Like cheese steaks, G. Love & Special Sauce will always be linked with Philadelphia. Yet Boston can also lay claim to the raspy-voiced music veteran: it was Beantown where he formed his band; it’s also the place G. Love (real name: Garrett Dutton III) now calls home.
Back in 1992, G. Love, whose new album “Superhero Brother” comes out tomorrow, was playing on the streets of Boston and Cambridge, busking his hip-hop/blues hybrid in Harvard Square. He soon met bassist Jim Prescott and drummer Jeffrey Clemens and formed G. Love & Special Sauce and started landing gigs at clubs on Lansdowne Street and pubs like the Plough & Stars and the now-departed Tam O’Shanter.
The band’s star didn’t truly rise until the band relocated to Philadelphia. But 15 years later, G. Love is back living in Boston, the place of his musical birth.
“I definitely come from Philly and always represent Philly,” said Love from his home in the South End last week, “but it was just a nice time for me to relocate up here for the last couple years. I just find Boston to be a tremendous music town. There’s so many people performing music. I feel like I tap into the musical energy that’s floating around in the air around here.”
Reminiscent of his early Boston days, Love has returned to the pub scene recently, performing incognito at Matt Murphy’s under the pseudonym The Phamily.
“It’s obviously been a different experience because when I first got here I was a struggling street musician and now I’m a recording artist,” said Love. “We kept it on the down low, didn’t advertise it, and it was awesome. It’s a great outlet for me.”
The band’s next show under the name G. Love & Special Sauce will be a grander affair: an Aug. 14 date headlining the Bank of America Pavilion.
Surviving 15 years in the music business is an accomplishment - and Love has managed his longevity without a commercial hit. He and Special Sauce came closest when their “Cold Beverages” video made it to MTV in 1994, but their success has been more slow burn than sudden meteor.
“We’ve always been on the edge of breaking out,” Love said. “Because we’ve never had a huge commercial hit, we never had the, ‘Oh they sold out, they’re too commercial now’ reaction. So that has always been special for the fans, people who’ve found us on their own. They feel like they own the music more, which is cool.”
When G. Love and Special Sauce’s debut came out, there was nothing else like it. No one was combining gutbucket acoustic blues with hip-hop. Today, their influence is pervasive, from Jason Mraz to Jack Johnson (whose career G. Love helped start).
“We originated that sound, and over the years you’ve seen a lot of people cop the style a little bit,” Love said. “But you can’t claim music like that. That’s how music is. It gets passed along.”
For the new record, Love didn’t reinvent the wheel. “Superhero Brother” may be less raw and minimalist than the band’s first albums, but it’s still the same G. Love & Special Sauce, with maybe a dash of social consciousness. As Love puts it, “The record is funky and a good time, but it also makes you think a little bit.”
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Amor Antiquita
Artist: Amor Antiquita
Genre(s):
Electronic
Discography:
Metallic Sonatas
Year: 2005
Tracks: 6
Pt. Ganapati Bhat Hasanagi
Amy Winehouse undergoing more tests
Singer fainted earlier this week
LONDON -- A spokesman for Amy Winehouse says the 24-year-old soul diva is having more hospital tests after fainting earlier this week.
Spokesman Chris Goodman says Winehouse had more scans and tests Thursday.
Winehouse collapsed Monday at her north London home after signing autographs for a group of fans. An assistant caught her before she hit the ground.
She is scheduled to sing at a June 27th concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, and is due to take part in the Glastonbury music festival the next day.
Her spokesman says that although Winehouse still plans to perform at both concerts, the decision "will be made entirely on the advice of her doctors and in her best interests."
LONDON -- A spokesman for Amy Winehouse says the 24-year-old soul diva is having more hospital tests after fainting earlier this week.
Spokesman Chris Goodman says Winehouse had more scans and tests Thursday.
Winehouse collapsed Monday at her north London home after signing autographs for a group of fans. An assistant caught her before she hit the ground.
She is scheduled to sing at a June 27th concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, and is due to take part in the Glastonbury music festival the next day.
Her spokesman says that although Winehouse still plans to perform at both concerts, the decision "will be made entirely on the advice of her doctors and in her best interests."
Tom Hanks supports AFTRA contract deal
LOS ANGELES —
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Tom Hanks has thrown his support behind a contract deal reached by the smaller of two actors unions, putting his high-profile name against plans by the larger union to wring more concessions from the major Hollywood studios.
Hanks added his name to an e-mail petition urging members to vote for a deal reached May 28 by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and avoid another Hollywood work stoppage on the heels of the 100-day writers' strike, which put many actors out of work.
The Screen Actors Guild continued to negotiate with studios Monday and has urged its members to vote down the AFTRA deal.
Both unions' contracts on prime-time TV shows and movie productions expire June 30.
The AFTRA petition said a "no" vote would effectively shut down Hollywood.
"Either our employers will lock us out, or SAG will strike," it said. "There really is no alternative if the AFTRA deal is defeated."
Among other prominent backers of the petition are former SAG president Richard Masur, Loretta Swit from "M-A-S-H", James Cromwell from "L.A. Confidential" and other actors including Adam Arkin, Morgan Fairchild and Tess Harper.
Cromwell, a former SAG board member, told The Associated Press he felt SAG was pressing for demands that could not be met.
"You bargain as hard as you can. But when you make promises you can't keep and then you hold this town hostage by your belligerence and intransigence to the realities of the industry ... it ain't gonna fly," he said. "Let's get what we can get."
A representative for Hanks confirmed Monday the actor had added his name to the petition but was unavailable to comment because he was filming in Europe.
AFTRA mailed out ballots to its some 70,000 members last week and the results are expected to be announced July 8.
SAG, representing 120,000 members, has said that talks with Hollywood studios could extend past the end of the current contract on June 30, but it was willing to keep actors working without a deal. Some 44,000 are members of both unions.
The guild has said it would push for higher wage increases, increased fees for Internet and DVD content, better mileage reimbursements and more protection for actors who refuse to consent to the use of clips of their images online.
"When unions compete with different contract terms, actors lose," said SAG's chief negotiator Doug Allen, in a statement urging members to vote against the deal.
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De-vision and Green Court
Artist: De-vision and Green Court
Genre(s):
Dance
Electronic
Trance
Discography:
Take My Breath Away (Part II)
Year: 2001
Tracks: 5
Take My Breath Away (Part I) C
Year: 2001
Tracks: 5
Shining (Part II) CD5
Year: 2000
Tracks: 5
Shining (Part I) CD5
Year: 2000
Tracks: 3
One Self
Scott Weiland - Weilands Released On Day One Of Sentence
LATEST: Rocker SCOTT WEILAND reportedly walked free from jail on Monday (12May08) - just hours after checking himself in to serve his eight-day sentence for driving under the influence (DUI).
It's claimed the singer began his stint behind bars at a California prison at 8.55am (EST) after pleading guilty to drink driving charges.
However, Weiland - who was axed from Velvet Revolver in March (08) after a series of spats with bandmates - was released from the Van Nuys Municipal Court Lockup at 6.54pm (EST), just 10 hours after entering the correctional facility, reports PerezHilton.com.
Weiland was given until 28 May (08) to complete 192 hours behind bars, but the rocker chose to start his jail time early so he could tour with the newly-reformed Stone Temple Pilots from 17 May (08).
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Day-Lewis jokes about Clooney kiss
Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis has explained his kissing of George Clooney at the Oscars on Sunday night.
MTV.com reports that when asked backstage why he had kissed Clooney on hearing that he had won the Oscar for 'There Will Be Blood', Day-Lewis replied: "I had to kiss someone."
He continued: "I had kissed my wife, so in the interest of parity, I had to kiss George."
'There Will Be Blood' opens in Irish cinemas on Friday 29 February.
To listen to Marian Finucane's exclusive interview with Daniel Day-Lewis, click here.
Visit our Oscars gallery here.
MTV.com reports that when asked backstage why he had kissed Clooney on hearing that he had won the Oscar for 'There Will Be Blood', Day-Lewis replied: "I had to kiss someone."
He continued: "I had kissed my wife, so in the interest of parity, I had to kiss George."
'There Will Be Blood' opens in Irish cinemas on Friday 29 February.
To listen to Marian Finucane's exclusive interview with Daniel Day-Lewis, click here.
Visit our Oscars gallery here.
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