Tuesday, November 03, 2015

John Mayer Defends Dead & Company Tour After 'Fare Thee Well' Gigs

John Mayer Defends Dead & Company Tour After 'Fare Thee Well' Gigs:

John Mayer defended members of the Grateful Dead, whom he'll be joining on tour this fall, for regrouping after the legendary band played what were billed as their final shows this summer, The Associated Press reports.

"I don't know of any Deadhead in the world who said, 'When I paid my money, I paid to see these guys finish this,'" said Mayer. The singer-songwriter is currently rehearsing for the trek in the Bay Area with three of the four surviving Grateful Dead members, guitarist and singer Bob Weir and percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.

The assembled crew will tour this fall under the name Dead & Company. While Phil Lesh is not involved, Weir suggested it was possible the bassist might join them for an upcoming show.

The Dead & Company tour comes on the heels of the Grateful Dead's celebrated 50th anniversary "Fare Thee Well" shows, two in the San Francisco Bay Area and three at Chicago's Soldier Field. The gigs featured Phish's Trey Anastasio filling in for the late Jerry Garcia, and tickets sold out almost instantly, with some reselling for thousands of dollars.

But Weir too dismissed the notion of actually calling it quits with the Dead, especially after playing with Mayer: "[He] was answering back, and it was fun, and more fun than I was really going to be happy about just walking away from," Weir said.

Dead & Company will kick off their fall trek on October 29th at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. The tour boasts three shows at Madison Square Garden, including a free November 7th gig that will be part of the American Express Unstaged Series (for those who can't score tickets, the concert will be available online thanks to a Brett Ratner-directed livestream). Dead & Company will close out their run, and a two-night Los Angeles stand, with a show at the Forum on New Year's Eve.

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:10 AM
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Kacey Musgraves on the Diversity and Rigors of the Road

Kacey Musgraves on the Diversity and Rigors of the Road:

It's been less than four months since Kacey Musgraves released her whipsmart, sweet-as-sin second album, Pageant Material, but the 27-year-old country singer says she knows it won't be long before she begins to tire of playing its songs on the road.

"I still really love a lot of these songs," Musgraves tells Rolling Stone Country backstage at Farm Aid 30 in Chicago, white oversize sunglasses covering up much of her face. "But that does happen: you mix and master [an album] and you work on it so long. . . They say when you get to the point where you don't want to ever hear it again that's when you know you’re done.”

For now, Musgraves is enjoying herself on tour, regularly adding dashes of her innate rock & roll flair into the Pageant Material songs when performing them live. During her sassy set, she'll often stretch out the new material onstage, giving each a more spontaneous flavor than their reined-in album versions. "'Die Fun' [has] grown into a more jammy kind of thing," Musgraves explains, tightly clutching her newly adopted pint-sized dog, Bambi. "We kind of jam out on that one; that's a little different than on the record. 'Dime Store Cowgirl,' same thing. I love the record versions a lot, but it's always fun to see them take on a new persona in the live show."

Raised in the small East Texas town of Golden, Musgraves' world has been dramatically altered in recent times, namely as a result of her breakout debut album, 2013's Same Trailer Different Park. For one, she's opened her eyes to the collective desires of humanity. "Meeting so many different types of people and seeing the way they live is one of my favorite parts of touring," she explains. "Since I've been doing that, it drives the fact home that we're all the same. We're all driven by the same emotions, the same wants, needs. We just do it in different ways. I really do enjoy experiencing different parts of other people's cultures and trying different foods."

Being one to care about what she eats, Musgraves says she was thrilled to be taking part in Farm Aid for the second consecutive year. Championing the need for more family farmers and less corporate involvement in food production hits especially close to home for her. "There's not a lot of resources [in Golden] for people to be healthy; it's kind of frustrating," she says. "It's inspiring to see Neil Young and Willie [Nelson] and all these people get fired up about this issue. It really inspires me. It's total bullshit how our food is regulated in this country. Clean healthy food isn't a luxury. It's a right.

"Golden is famous for its sweet potatoes; that's its cash crop," she continues. "But as far as going to the store and getting organic produce that is untouched by pesticides and GMOs, it's not available. It's just not. Even the quote-unquote fresh produce that's there isn't what it could be. So it's really sad."

While on tour, Musgraves says she's started writing new material for the follow-up to Pageant Material, but admits to being the sort of musician who reserves her most creative time periods for those spent in the studio. "Here and there if an idea pops in my head I jot it down because I don't want to let it go," she offers. "I don't do as much writing as I would like to do on the road; I just don't think there's the calmness and focus I can have when I go somewhere to write and just clear my head.

"But I always can't wait to get back to the writing part," she concludes. "And I always save up a bunch of ideas so when I do get to it I have a lot at my fingertips. I feel most in my element when I'm writing or creating. Although that aspect doesn't last for as long as I would like."

Musgraves recently performed a pair of triumphant sold-out shows at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. She'll play New Orleans on Friday, October 9th, before heading north for two gigs in Oklahoma.

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:10 AM
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Hank Williams Jr. to Kick Off Unpredictable CMA Awards: The Ram Report

Hank Williams Jr. to Kick Off Unpredictable CMA Awards: The Ram Report:

Every year, the CMA Awards broadcast typically grasps viewers in the first few seconds with some sort of explosive collaboration. This year, that honor goes to Hank Williams, Jr. and Eric Church. Bocephus' big CMA comeback, along with the show's other unpredictable elements are the focus of today's Ram Report.

After cryptically sporting a baseball cap emblazoned with the word "icon" for his 2014 American Country Countdown Awards performance, Williams' secret record label deal was finally let out of the bag in April. The newest artist on Big Machine Label Group and Cumulus Media's Nash Icon imprint, he is putting together a new set of tunes for release in the coming months.

"We have made an album that is pure magic," Williams tells Rolling Stone Country. "The songs — some I wrote and others I got from great songwriters — are typical Hank Jr. songs and I think will connect with anyone who hears them."

The first song will make its debut on the November 4th CMA Awards, with Church joining Bocephus on stage to start the live show. Church is up for five awards going into the big night, which makes him tied with Little Big Town for the most nominations. One of his categories that is arguably the most unpredictable is the night's biggest: Entertainer of the Year. He's up against Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert and last year's champ, Luke Bryan, for the honor. Other categories that are particularly hard to place bets on include Album of the Year and New Artist of the Year, with no clear frontrunner in either mix. See the full list of 2015 CMA Awards nominees here.

Hosted by Ashley Eicher, Rolling Stone Country's Ram Report is our new web series bringing you the latest country music news. Watch every weekday at RollingStone.com/RamReport.

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:09 AM
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Shania Twain Cancels Final Two U.S. Shows for Respiratory Infection

Shania Twain Cancels Final Two U.S. Shows for Respiratory Infection:

An upper respiratory infection has temporarily sidelined Shania Twain, whose Rock This Country Tour takes a serious hit this week. With just 10 shows left to go on the tour's 2015 leg, Twain has been forced to pull the plug on two gigs while she recovers. On the chopping block are last night's concert in Manchester, New Hampshire, which was canceled several hours before showtime, as well as tonight's show in Albany, New York. The shows were the final two concerts scheduled for the United States and won't be rescheduled.

"Shania Twain's doctors have advised her to rest for several days after she was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. The concert dates are unable to be rescheduled due to Shania Twain's current touring schedule," reads a post on the singer's Facebook page, followed by nearly 700 comments expressing everything from sympathy to outrage.

Twain has played more than 60 shows since kicking off her farewell tour in June. The concerts have been demanding, filled with costume changes, pyrotechnics, aerial tricks and a 19-song setlist. A 2016 trek across Europe is reportedly in the works, as is a new album, which will be her first studio release since Up! in 2002. Although Twain, 50,  has expressed interest in launching another residency in Las Vegas, the Rock This Country Tour will reportedly be her last time taking her show across the world.

Pending her recovery, Twain's tour resumes on Friday, October 9th, in Quebec City. All remaining dates are in Twain's native Canada, however, with the final show set for Kelowna, British Columbia, on October 27th.

"I feel like there are so many other things to do musically, and there is just not enough time to do everything," Twain told Rolling Stone Country in June, explaining her reasons to stop touring. "I want to write more music. I'd like to spend a lot more time doing that. I'd like to make more records. I want to write for other people. I'd like to write more books. I've got a teenage son. I've just got a whole decade in front of me that is full already, before it even gets started."

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:09 AM
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All for the Hall 2015: Paul Simon, Brad Paisley Trade Riffs and Jabs

All for the Hall 2015: Paul Simon, Brad Paisley Trade Riffs and Jabs:

Vince Gill began last night's All for the Hall guitar pull by reciting one of the entertainment industry's most persistent clichés: "It's just fun," he told the crowd at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square, "You never know what you're gonna hear." Well, with Paul Simon, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood sitting beside him, everybody in the audience had a few guesses, whether it was classics like "The Boxer" or recent hits like Underwood's "Smoke Break." Both of these tunes were in fact played to great applause, but that doesn't mean the host and 20-time Grammy winner was lying: The artists' song choices may not have been entirely unexpected, but the show they put together was joyously unscripted.

The All for the Hall events take place annually in Nashville and bi-annually in New York and Los Angeles, alternating between coasts each year. Proceeds — significant because the show began with a swanky dinner and a raffle in which a private performance by Gill and Harris fetched $95,000 — benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

As is custom, the performers were backed only by an acoustic guitar or two, and the music started as soon as the food was cleared. Harris went first, singing "My Songbird" in honor of its author, her recently deceased friend Jesse Winchester. Next up, Paisley followed her lead, doing a little bit of "Country Boy" in honor of his own recently deceased friend, Little Jimmy Dickens. He then shifted into his own "Southern Comfort Zone." "This is a dream I have," he said of his role in the event. "But I'm usually naked."

Rather than play her own guitar, Underwood was backed by a guy whose all-black formal outfit gave off a strong Secret Service vibe, making at least one person in the room envision a scenario where he jumped into the crowd to save her from a would-be assassin. This didn't happen, but he did add some pep to "Smoke Break." Under the subsequent applause, Simon began to tease the intro to "The Sound of Silence." Without saying a word of introduction, he then drew it out, fingered a few decoys and finally gave himself over to the iconic first verse.

And so back to Gill, who gestured around the stage as he tried to lighten the mood: "Every one of them called me and said, 'We'll come, but you have to follow him.'" That tone — playful yet reverential — carried the entire two hours.

"This is a typical thing in Nashville," Paisley later explained. "On any given night there's 10 of these." When he then asked Simon if that's how it was in the Greenwich Village folk scene, he earned some good-natured ribbing for his use of the phrase "back in your day."

Over the course of the night, Gill played "Whenever You Come Around," "Go Rest High on That Mountain" and a new tune that particularly impressed Simon. Simon, meanwhile, continued with "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "The Boxer," and sent everyone home with the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved." After complimenting Gill, he laid into the guy that had brought up his age: "Brad, I didn't like any of your stuff."

Underwood told Simon about the time she earned her grandparents' ire for singing the "making love" line from "Cecilia" as a little girl, and she helped her CMA co-host through their duet "Remind Me." As it turned out, he needed it more on "Welcome to the Future," forgetting half the Obama tribute's second verse. For Paisley, it was a bit of a full-circle moment: Harris had just finished a song about Emmett Till, and with the Hall of Fame still on his mind, he spoke about how simple songs can communicate big ideas.

"I was in Times Square in 2008, when the election was, and struck by the amazing way that after electing the first black president we had all these people in the streets," he said. "Sometimes in Nashville, we're so surrounded by music that sometimes we forget that it can say something really important."

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:09 AM
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After Shaky Debut, Tidal Looks to Hopeful, Yet Competitive, Future

After Shaky Debut, Tidal Looks to Hopeful, Yet Competitive, Future:

Six months after Jay Z's Tidal service stormed the music-streaming market with a splashy press conference starring Beyoncé, Madonna, Kanye West and other pop megastars, the service has racked up 1 million users, released exclusives by Prince and Rihanna and developed an aggressive artist-discovery program that ties in with events like the Made In America festival. The company will celebrate its user achievement with an October 20th Barclays Center concert starring Beyoncé, Jay Z, Prince, Usher, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne, but can it build momentum to compete with Spotify and Apple Music?

Compared to Spotify's 75 million users — including 20 million who pay $10 monthly subscriptions — and Apple Music's announcement of 11 million users in August, Tidal's subscriber base seems thin. But Spotify had only 1 million paid subscribers in the U.S. within a year and a half of its 2011 launch here, and Apple has yet to announce adjusted numbers after the first wave of free three-month trials ended in late September. Tidal has a few built-in advantages: Although it's pricey at $20 per month for HiFi (a $10 monthly fee is also available), it's the only music-subscription service to heavily emphasize high-resolution audio files. And it has Jay Z, who paid $56 million for the service and has no intention of decelerating its growth.

"We have the unlimited resources of hiring people and scaling," Rune Lending, Tidal's chief technology officer, tells Rolling Stone. "We are very happy with where we are."

But many in the music business, where streaming is slowly taking over from CD and download sales as the main way of generating revenue, are skeptical of Tidal's prospects.

"It seems like they've just totally failed to gain traction. They have a tough road," says Ben Swanson, co-owner of Secretly Group, indie-label home of The War on Drugs, Major Lazer and others. "There's Spotify and there's Apple — it's great that there's at least two of them, but it's going to be really, really hard for anyone else to come around."

Many have criticized Tidal's initial press conference, which, while star-studded, was confusing and appeared to show artists having no idea what they were doing onstage. "None of the artists knew anything about the PR," Arcade Fire's Win Butler, a Tidal co-owner who participated, told an interviewer recently. "It was a poorly managed launch, but conceptually, the thing that we liked about Tidal was that it's HD streaming quality."

Given so many outspoken artists on its team, Tidal had focus issues early on: Jay Z gave interviews suggesting its mission was to compensate artists more heavily than other services; co-owner Jack White added that he wanted to see more "obscure albums" on the service. "There really isn't a clearly defined strategy," says a source at a major record label. "The hope is they can work it out."

Tidal does have some inherent business issues: It contains no Spotify-style freemium plan and its free trial period is only one month, compared to Apple Music's three. That makes it harder to draw in users who have never heard of the service. But on the flipside, it has steadily built up unique content. Prince streamed an entire concert via Tidal in May, despite withholding his music from streaming services, and added a new album later; Lil Wayne put out an exclusive album; and Rihanna, Beyonce, Madonna and others have dropped tracks and videos.

"Early on, it was a bit of a — I wouldn't say 'struggle,' but you had to educate people on what Tidal was doing," says Tim Riley, Tidal's senior vice president for artist and label relations. "But we've moved so quickly and built so much content that the word has spread. It's gotten a lot easier."

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:08 AM
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Hear NASA's 'Golden Record' From 1977 Voyager Mission

Hear NASA's 'Golden Record' From 1977 Voyager Mission:

In 1977, NASA launched the two Voyager spacecrafts with gold-plated records featuring sound collages showcasing the diverse culture, nature and industry of planet Earth – from Chuck Berry to Bach, industrial machinery to volcanic eruptions. The "Golden Record" project, led by author-astrophysicist Carl Sagan, was an optimistic attempt to communicate with extra-terrestrial life – or anyone else who may stumble upon the discs (and figure out how to play them).

Nearly 40 years later, the records – hand-etched with the greeting, "To the makers of music – all worlds, all times" – are still drifting in their search for interstellar contact. But BBC Radio 3 has compiled some of these disparate sounds into an hour-long digital playlist, available to stream at their website.

The mix begins with an introduction from 1977 UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. "As the Secretary General of the United Nations, an organization of 147 member states who represent almost all of the human inhabitants of the planet Earth, I send greetings on behalf of the people of our planet," he says. "We step out of our solar system into the universe seeking only peace and friendship – to teach if we are called upon, to be taught if we are fortunate. We know full well that our planet and all its inhabitants are but a small part of this immense universe that surrounds us, and it is with humility and hope that we take this step."

Also included are human greetings in 55 different languages, with a blend of music and field recordings spanning all corners of the Earth, including blues pioneer Blind Willie Johnson, composer Igor Stravinsky, Australian aboriginal songs and the hum of planes and trains.

Along with the sprawling audio, Voyager housed 118 photographs and, according to a NASA report, the "brain waves of a young women [sic] in love." The "Golden Record" project team wanted to include the Beatles' forward-looking anthem "Here Comes the Sun," but were denied because the band didn't own the song's copyright.

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:08 AM
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Donald Trump, Julio Iglesias Battle Over Immigration

Donald Trump, Julio Iglesias Battle Over Immigration:

Donald Trump and Julio Iglesias engaged in a war of words in the press Wednesday after the singer said he'd no longer perform in casinos owned by the billionaire presidential candidate. The singer called Trump a "clown" after saying "sorry to clowns" in an interview with the Spanish-language La Vanguardia, according to The New York Times. Although Iglesias was born in Spain, he titled his most recent album Mexico, a country that's been the target of many Trump rants since he announced his candidacy.

"I will never again play in his casinos," the singer said, saying that Trump's position on immigration wasn't correct. "I don't want to hurt the immigrants all over the world, and there are many casinos I can play that aren't owned by Mr. Trump."

The billionaire responded in a short statement: "Good, I don't like his voice or his performances anymore, anyhow!"

In the interview, Iglesias shrugged off the notion that he was bringing up Trump for publicity. "I'm maybe the biggest Latino artist in history," he said. "If you think that I need that now, that's wrong."

Since comparing undocumented immigrants to "rapists" in a speech, Trump has sparked worldwide ire for his rhetoric. He has nevertheless maintained his stance to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "We can have a great and beautiful wall, we'll have our border, and guess what? Nobody comes in unless they have their papers," the billionaire recently said on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. He also maintained that he was unapologetic for anything he has said.

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:08 AM
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MEGHAN MARKLE at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

MEGHAN MARKLE at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



MEGHAN MARKLE at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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LAKE BELL at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

LAKE BELL at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:

LAKE BELL at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015

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ELSA HOSK at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

ELSA HOSK at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



ELSA HOSK at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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DEMI MOORE at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

DEMI MOORE at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



DEMI MOORE at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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CHANEL IMAN at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

CHANEL IMAN at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



CHANEL IMAN at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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KARLIE KLOSS at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

KARLIE KLOSS at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



KARLIE KLOSS at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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AMANDA SEYFRIED at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

AMANDA SEYFRIED at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



AMANDA SEYFRIED at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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TAYLOR HILL at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York

TAYLOR HILL at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015:



TAYLOR HILL at 12th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York 11/02/2015


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LILY ALDRIDGE at 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fireworks Fantasy Bra Reveal in Santa Monica

LILY ALDRIDGE at 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fireworks Fantasy Bra Reveal in Santa Monica 11/02/2015:



LILY ALDRIDGE at 2015 Victoria


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CHERYL COLE at Music Industry Trust Awards in London

CHERYL COLE at Music Industry Trust Awards in London 11/02/2015:



CHERYL COLE at Music Industry Trust Awards in London 11/02/2015


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TANIA MER in FHM Magazine, Spain November 2015 Issue

TANIA MER in FHM Magazine, Spain November 2015 Issue:



TANIA MER in FHM Magazine, Spain November 2015 Issue


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Monday, November 02, 2015

Ann Wilson on New Solo EP, Americana Love and 40 Years of Heart

Ann Wilson on New Solo EP, Americana Love and 40 Years of Heart:

When compiling her short but satisfying new EP of cover songs, already available on iTunes but released physically this Friday, October 9th, on Rounder Records, Ann Wilson had one rule: each track had to move the famously powerful lead vocalist of Heart.

"All the songs had to be songs where the words really turned Ann on," Wilson tells Rolling Stone Country, laughing at her use of the third person. "It's not just going to be a bunch of songs that turn a bunch of guitar players on. It's all for me to get out there and really be able to feel these songs."

In fact, it was the desire to launch a solo tour — her first ever — that spawned the EP, a four-song collection of cuts by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Buffalo Springfield, and one new original, the bluesy "Fool No More." Having already played shows in Solana Beach, California, and New York City, the tour hits Annapolis, Maryland, and Vienna, Virginia, before wrapping up in Nashville on October 15th with special guests Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris.

Related: 50 Rock Albums Every Country Fan Should Own

"Fool No More," with its lyrics about pulling down the blinds and shutting out life, is actually a song of self-awakening, Wilson says, one that recognizes the stark reality of time marching on. "This is about emerging from the blues," she says. "I have been such a fool all my life, just wasting it. It's got a pretty intense message. . . Who among us hasn't gone, 'I don't like this day, so I'm just going to hang out and waste it.' There are parts in this song that say I've been 'a fool on the ceiling, a fool on the floor' — that's talking about my own forays with addiction. I'd been wasting time, just being drunk, just wallowing. And so it's awakening from that."

While far from a country release, The Ann Wilson Thing! - #1 does nod toward Americana, a genre for which Wilson has great affection. She's performed with Krauss and Harris in the past — Krauss guested on Wilson's 2007 solo album of covers, Hope and Glory; Wilson joined Harris and Shawn Colvin for a three-woman show on a Grammy cruise last year — and also raves about Lucinda Williams.

"One of these days I'm going to catch that butterfly in my net. She's so amazing, so talented, one of our best. She's a lone wolf though," Wilson says of the Louisiana singer, synonymous with the Americana genre. "When country reaches over to the left to Americana, that's where I can really relate," Wilson adds. "[Contemporary country] is pretty conservative for my book. Americana is way more satisfying, and has a little more room for expression and soul."

With a diverse set list of primarily covers — Neil Young's "War of Man," Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" — Wilson has succeeded in finding meaningful and vocally expressive songs to sing onstage. Though she stopped short of including any of her past work, namely Heart songs.

"The thing about the Ann Wilson Thing is there is no Heart in it," she says wryly. "We thought about doing 'Alone,' but it didn't live with the rest of the songs in the set. We have another intellect going on [onstage] that's not about romantic love."

Still, she and sister Nancy Wilson — Heart's Jimmy Page to Ann's Robert Plant —continue to tour with their signature band, 2013 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group has tour dates slotted into December — but while this February marks the 40th anniversary of their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, Wilson says the group has nothing official planned. At the suggestion of their booking agent it turns out.

"Our booking agent said, 'Well, you probably shouldn't do anything to celebrate your 40th anniversary, because it makes the fans feel old,'" Wilson says, laughing. "We were like, 'OK, sure, we'll just keep going.' We don't need to have a big fireworks show. And there are no plans to knock it on the head any time soon."

Wilson does recall those original recording sessions for Dreamboat Annie, however, which included now classic-rock staples like "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You." "

"I remember being really naïve and not knowing anything about the studio, just going in there and looking around like I was on a high-school field trip," she says. "And being put in front of a microphone and being so scared and nervous, and no big voice, just a scared little voice. Eventually, through the kindness of our producer Mike Flicker, I was brought out. That was a really life-changing experience."

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:22 PM
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