· Soul-stirring, jaw-dropping local Blues/Rock guitarist/singer/songwriter Kelly Richey has a new album (her 11th!) ready for release. Carry the Light (put out through Richey's own label, Sweet Lucy Records) was written with local guitarist John Redell and songwriter Steve Carroll. Richey's CD release party for the new album this Sunday is a part of a big evening of music at Play By Play Café in Silverton. Local filmmaker Chuck Land Jr. will be on hand to head up a six-camera video shoot, with plans for a DVD release to follow. The music will start at 5 p.m. and the other artists performing (and being filmed) are Soul rockers The Blue Shivers, Reggae/Rock band Mister Creeper and Land's own Chuck Land Band, which plays a mix of Blues, Jazz and Funk. For more on Landman, see landmanproductions.com. For more on Kelly Richey, go to kellyrichey.com.
· Local Post Punk band Knife the Symphony is getting ready to drop its sophomore full-length in late June. The album will be released on KTS's label, Phratry Records, which has a full slate of releases ready to hit the stores in the next few months, including new ones from locals like Mad Anthony, The Strongest Proof and Arms Exploding.
KTS' nine-track Crawler will have an additional track on the vinyl version. Knife the Symphony plays this Thursday at Molly Malone's in Covington, along with The Strongest Proof and The Read, plus Chicago's Quatre Tete. The show is the first from MonkeyMindPromotions, a new booking company headed up by Eric Mauch and Viva La Foxx bassist Danielle Bell. (knifethesymphony.com)
· Bootsy Collins and the folks at his Bootzilla Productions have been very busy lately, putting together the "Tribute to the Godfather of Soul" tour, which features locals like Freekbass (which will have a new live album out soon, recorded recently at the 20th Century Theater) and Djizzle. Also on the tour are the original James Brown rhythm section and Tony Wilson (playing with Bootsy) and other James Brown-affiliated acts, including his daughter's group, Escapism, and the Bobby Byrd Band. (Artists like Chuck D and Afrika Bambaataa will play on select dates, as well.) The tour was to kick off this week in Philly, but most of the May shows have been pushed back (look for the tour to start in earnest this July). Bootsy has also found time to pen a heartfelt tribute to fallen local soldier Matt Maupin, the lyrics of which can be found at bootsycollins.com (the song will reportedly soon be sent overseas for military members).
· Local publishing house Aurore Press is putting together a book about the fabled Jockey Club, the Newport Punk club that played host to legends like The Ramones and The Cramps and served as home base for scores of local bands and Punk fans. Greater Cincinnati's CBGB's will be tributed in Aurore's second book (following a collection of essays about the war in Iraq) and the publishers are looking for your recollections. Deadline for writer submissions is Aug. 31. Check aurorepress.com for more submission procedures. The book is slated for release this fall, with proceeds going to Lonely Instruments for Needy Kids (LINKS), which refurbishes old musical instruments for interested students that can't afford them.
Contact Mike Breen: [email protected]
