Scissor Sisters cut their friend in on a new CD

May 31, 2006

Scissor Sisters are finally just about done working on their second album, which is expected out later this year, and the group’s female presence, Ana Matronic, recently spoke with the press about some of the special guest stars that will be appearing with the Sisters on their latest effort. Among the contributors will be David Bowie’s former guitarist Carlos Alomar, and, also Elton John, who plays piano on the new, Scissor Sisters track “I Can’t Decide.” The band recently debuted several of their new songs at this year’s Coachella Festival, which took place just a few weeks ago...

Phish bandmates Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon will reunite this summer for a series of shows, some with Phil Lesh and Friends, and Anastasio will also hit the road with his own band for a schedule of opening performances with Tom Petty. Anastasio, Gordon, and Lesh will kick off their round of shows on June 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Anastasio and Gordon will be backed by keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo. Trey Anastasio solo dates with Tom Petty will include stops in Columbus, OH (6/14), Noblesville, Indiana (6/23), and Dallas, TX (8/4), while Anastasio’s dates with Mike Gordon will include shows in Raleigh, NC (6/28), Scranton, PA (7/11), and Chicago (7/20)...

In kind-of-related news, at least as far as jam bands go, the 2007 Jam Cruise has just been announced, so you’d better get your tix now if you’re interested in participating in this boat cruise for the jam-set. Scheduled to depart Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on January 2, 2007, the cruise will be on the water for 5 days with two stops, and with several bands playing on several different stages during the “on-the-water” time - bands typically play from early afternoon until well past midnight, and the 2007 cruise will include performances from Railroad Earth, Galactic, Banana Blackout, and reggae legend Burning Spear. Tickets go on sale June 1, 2006 - for more info and to secure yourself and your bare feet a space on the Jam Cruise, check out www.jamcruise.com...

UK popsters Scritti Politti are returning to the pop world this summer after seven years off the charts; founding member Green Gartside and bandmates have taken their soulful, newly hip-hop-influenced sound to the recording studio and have finally completed their fourth album, White Bread, Black Beer, which will be released on Rough Trade Records and which will serve as their first disc since 1999. Gartside played some London shows earlier this year in pre-promotion for the album, and a more extensive tour is currently being planned...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Remember Weird Al, the song parodist from the late ‘90s who made fun of... well, just about every pop musician that’s hit the charts, including Avril Lavigne, The Hives, The White Stripes, the Backstreet Boys, and many, many more? Well, now you can relive those Weird Al moments when Al releases a DVD version of his cult fave TV show, The Weird Al Show, on August 15; find out more about the DVD and Al’s albums at his officially weird site, www.weirdal.com...

MINI BUZZ:
Alt-rockers Fuel, in an interesting twist, may be hiring recently-ousted American Idol semi-finalist Chris Daughtry as their new lead singer...
Interesting twist part two: The Backstreet Boys have stated that they’re going back into the recording studio - yes, all five of ‘em - and will begin work on a new BSB album later this year...
Several delays later, the OutKast movie “Idlewild” is now set to hit U.S. theaters on August 25, to be preceded three days by the movie’s soundtrack album...
Christina Aguilera’s new album, Back to Basics, will be released on August 15, with Aguilera reportedly “paying tribute to soul, jazz, and blues from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s”...
VH1 will host the first annual VH1 Rock Honors show on May 31 at 9 pm (in Las Vegas, appropriately) - the show will feature performances by the Foo Fighters and All-American Rejects and honoring the likes of Queen, Def Leppard, and Kiss...
Bloc Party have announced a series of U.S. live shows, which will include performances in Boston (7/28), Anaheim, California (8/1), and Houston, Texas (8/9)...

ON CD: The Charlatans UK’s Live at Last... The Walkmen’s Hundred Miles Off... Angels and Airwaves’ We Don’t Need to Whisper... Ashley Parker Angel’s Soundtrack to Your Life... Pearl Jam’s Pearl Jam... and Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack for The DaVinci Code... ON DVD: Rory Gallagher’s Live at Montreux... Rush’s Replay 3 DVD/CD Box Set... Gentle Giant’s Sight and Sound in Concert... and Roy Orbison’s Live from Australia (1972)... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!
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