Baseball and Portishead back for '08

Baseball Returns

Enough with steroids, new stadiums (DC and coming soon to NY, Minn. and Florida), crossover promotion and even the winter leagues, I'm ready for the real deal. I have the 2008 Preview issue of Baseball Digest, and that's all I need (and Street and Smith's) right now.

Baseball Digest is the place you go to read about the game from a historical perspective, comparable to MOJO, the english classic rock magazine. In a world of pitch-by-pitch updates on cell phones, I still find their content fascinating. The letters, the quiz, old man John Kuenster's editorial and The Game I'll Never Forget are features I love. The Goose is in the new issue too as this year's sole Hall of Fame inductee.

It's now down to 8 issues a year after going from 12 to ten a few years ago. I hope BB Digest is around forever but turnarounds aren't typical in show business. Please read and subscribe to Baseball Digest if you are into baseball. They recently put out a book compiling their greatest stories, The Best of Baseball Digest, which is a nice resource on many players and topics.

The baseball digest letters section is great for people griping and looking up old info, as well as stating an opinion. It's similar to the MOJO letters column, where our old friend Daniel Makagon (formerly of KXLU, Los Angeles and WMTU, Houghton MI) recently called out my hero and client Elvis Costello in response to an epic interview (conducted at the Lincoln Memorial) where Elvis said he would never make another album and never play another show in England! Makagon thought EC was hypocritical for re-releasing his catalog several times essentially. There were a lot of negative reactions, but in my book (and my blog), Elvis can't do much wrong.

Fear Nuttin' Band

Fear Nuttin' concludes their tour with The Toasters and looking for stations to visit. Please read below about a band who's album I promoted years ago that started out just like Fear Nuttin'. They are a fierce combo of dance-hall reggae and hard rock. Sir Walford of WCDB Albany will probably be our first stop and accurately compared them to the Bad Brains. Sir Walford is a legendary roots reggae dj who has been on the station since the 80s and has a ton of listeners to both "The Other Side of Sir Walford" and "The Many Moods of Sir Walford."

Joseph Israel

Joseph hits Miami hard tomorrow with the Marley family at Carifest, and continues on to the following: 3/2: Jacksonville; 3/3 Wilmington; 3/4 Asheville; 3/5 Falls Church; 3/6 New York City; 3/8 Canton NY; 3/9: Boston; 3/10 New Market NH; 3/11 Rochester NY; 3/12 Athens OH; 3/13: Cincinnati OH; 3/15 Fayetteville AR

Willie Nelson
The new video features Jessica Simpson, Paula Nelson, Ben Dorsey, Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson and Willie in the First Bad Boy Lawn Mower Race through Luck TX. (embedding disabled so please click to view)

Buddy Miles RIP
The LA Times obituary says he sang for the California Raisins as well as playing drums with Jimi Hendrix and Mike Bloomfield, two of the greatest guitarists ever. Here's a bit of Buddy Miles as I remember him best:



Portishead back for 2008, fresh as ever

Our friends Portishead return with a new album in April. In 1994, with the grunge revolution still going strong, earbender took a project no other indies were interested in, the debut by Portishead, Dummy, and it made it to the top 10. I'm glad they are back but will be at Jazzfest when they do their Coachella thing. An interview with artist Jonathan Coulton on twit.tv where he described the loyalty of his fans, generated slowly and steadily via blogging reminded me of Portishead.

College radio is where Portishead engendered such loyal fans that ten years later, they come back to headline the best festival in the USA. Portishead will have good songs, and the passage of time makes me wonder how their sound might have changed (especially now that so many have caught up and adopted spy music/beats/chanteuse style. But I will be at Jazzfest for the re-debut.

Paula Nelson on KUT 2/27

In anticipation of SXSW, here's a bit of our client Paula Nelson on KUT this past Wednesday. Paula will also be broadcasting live from the legendary south Austin spot The Saxon Pub tonight on KGSR.com, so please tune in. The Saxon Pub is a great hang where Poodie once gave me the definitions of "Friday Night Hero" and "Pressure Cooker" strip clubs in the same story. It's going to be a fun night and Paula's album Lucky 13 is coming soon.

If you can't make it to Austin, you can virtually visit the Best Pub in Britain.

Earbender Reggae/Radio Refresher

It's all coming together! This is the first post I am making that is connected to an eblast, so if you are visiting via my email, thanks for stopping by. Earbender has been up for a few months and I have made some posts that combine my interests in music, sports, pop culture and politics. Hopefully these are topics that compliment and conspire with the music I am talking about too. It's supposed to be more flavorful than just promoting, and hopefully informative too.

Joseph Israel "Mankind"



Baseball and ethics seem to be the main focus on Cardboard Gods, and I'm proud to tell you they are the first sports page to list a link to earbender. Reflecting out our diverse topics, college radio page "Spinning Indie," political reporter Daniel Patterson on "Creepy Sleepy" and (cough) "Celeb Stoner" all now have a link to this page on theirs.

I wasn't surprised to read in the NY Times that Gitmo inspires art. They just haven't found a way to silence them yet, apparently.

In an age where racism has such dramatic implications, why not get into some reggae which helps bring everyone together? Below are links to a couple of artists I am promoting, Fear Nuttin' and Joseph Israel, and while they have reggae/rasta/roots music in their hearts, they are both trying to take it further.

Fear Nuttin' "Pon di Block" video



Reggae for Children is a good thing

Hear some sweet music from Joseph Israel on Global Hit



For you classic rock fans, here is a great picture of the Rolling Stones and Martin Scorsese outside the Berlin premiere of the film "Shine a Light." I heard a few songs from outside the door of the Beacon Theatre, I'm sure it's going to be a good one. Here's a review from the London Times. Almost stole the poster from the Sony Imax too, would have if it was better looking. Did Robbie Conal create it?:

21st Century Gadgets, Reggae Tours

Check out the Squba, a Swiss made car that goes underwater, with a built in breathing apparatus. The roof stays off for easy escape. I also have some video from the Virgin Galactic Plane announced at the AMNH yesterday. I like the fact that we are starting to see some 21st Century, futuristic developments. The three main candidates for president all have a connection to the sixties... I wonder who America will choose.

What's the next level of Guitar Hero? It's such a good game that kids are buying the old records and even taking more of an interest in playing guitar. What could be next? A huge crossover market for Wii and the others to senior citizens is one result. Another I have been thinking of were Jazz Hero and Symphonic or Philharmonic interactive games. You could have the weirdest controllers for all kinds of instruments, and especially the baton for the conductor. It seems like older listeners would want to play this music but you probably need young tendons to play "Ornithology."

In the meantime, Guitar Hero III features Aerosmith.

The Virgin Galactic video:



Joseph Israel is on tour spreading reggae love in the following cities, with a new ep including classic rock conscious covers as well as performing originals from his most recent album "Gone Are the Days."

Feb 17-The Waiting Room, Omaha NE
Feb 20- The Snorty Horse, Springfield MO
Feb 21- VZD's, Oklahoma City OK
Mar 1 - 15th Annual Bob Marley Caribbean Festival, Miami FL
Mar 2 - Free Bird Live, Jacksonville FL
Mar 3 - 16 Taps, Wilmington NC
Mar 4 - Emerald Lounge, Asheville NC
Mar 5 - State Theater, Falls Church VA w/ Lionize
Mar 6 - Sullivan Hall, New York NY
Mar 8 - The Java Barn (St. Lawrence University) FREE SHOW, Canton NY
Mar 9 - Bill's Bar, Boston MA
Mar 10- The Stone Church, New Market, NH
Mar 11- Water Street Music Hall, Rochester NY
Mar 12- The Blue Gator, Athens OH
Mar 13- Annie's, Cincinnati OH
Mar 15- George's Majestic, Fayetteville AR
May 25- Desert Rocks Music Festival, Moab UT

Another great new artist I'm working with, Fear Nuttin' Band, is a hard rocking reggae hybrid now on tour with the Ska legends The Toasters. Fear Nuttin' Band is pumping YARDCORE, their new album which comes out on April 29 on BoDog Music. They rock hard, you should see them if you have the chance.

Fear Nuttin Band dates with The Toasters and beyond:
2/17 -- Pittsburgh, PA (Diesel); 2/18 -- Indianapolis (The Underground); 2/19 -- Cedar Falls (The Reverb); 2/20 -- Milwaukee (Miramar Theatre); 2/21 Minneapolis (Triple Rock Social Club); 2/22 -- Chicago (Reggie's Live); 2/23 -- St. Louis (On Broadway); 2/29 -- Northampton (Iron Horse)

I was sorry to hear that Roy Scheider died last weekend. He was a constant presence in a variety of action movies in the 70s, typically in the role of the non-conformist cop. He was huge as the Chief in Jaws, but how about this incredible chase scene from video from "The Seven-Ups"? They roll up 10th Avenue, onto Amsterdam Ave., the West Side Highway, GWB and Palisades Parkway.

Also on the 70s tip, an original blogger (he was opinionated on homemade media), Karl Ehrhardt, 'Sign man' of Shea Stadium, died at 83 this past week. Perhaps it's just as well it was without having to see Shea demolished next year. He was awesome, I sat near him on the 3rd base side many times. The signs were day-glo and dark blue (something lost in these pictures). He was funny and harsh at the same time. "I just called them the way I saw them" said Ehrhardt.

Pimp C

The sad story of Bun B bravely carrying on in the wake of his partner Pimp C's sudden death at the end of last year was in The NY Times earlier this week. The article discussed Bun B's resolve and how he had carried on while Pimp C was incarcerated a few years ago, but turns very sad in the last paragraph:

"...But on Friday night it was hard not to be overwhelmed by what’s gone. Houston’s sad roll call keeps getting longer: not just Pimp C and Big Moe and DJ Screw, but also Fat Pat, H.A.W.K., Big Steve, Big Mello and others. A few years ago Houston hip-hop was exploding; now the boom has come and gone, leaving the survivors to plot their next moves. Backstage Bun B said, “We had a good run, now it’s time to knuckle down.” No doubt he’s right. But it won’t be the same."

My vibes to Bun B, all Pimp C's family and friends and the Rap-A-Lot label.

Here is Pimp C's "Knockin Doors Down" video, uncut version in tribute: