Belle & Sebastian ready for US Tour

Sept. 26, 2010

Belle and Sebastian Ready for U.S. Tour

They haven’t toured in over four years, but Belle and Sebastian have finally decided that it’s time to pack those suitcases again - and they’re heading for America. Set to launch on September 30, the band’s trek will take them through Brooklyn NY (9/30), L.A. (10/3), Chicago (10/11), and Toronto (10/12) among other stops; the Brooklyn show will also feature performances from fellow Scots Teenage Fanclub. The tour is rumored to be aimed at generating interest in Belle and Sebastian’s upcoming seventh studio album, which they are reportedly in the midst of recording in Los Angeles...
Carlos Santana is upping his modern rock cred by calling in a wide range of modern rockers to collaborate with him on his new album, Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, which is out this week. Santana will combine his exceptional guitar skills with, as the title suggests, a variety of classic rock songs, from Scott Weiland’s (Stone Temple Pilots) take on The Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’” to Gavin Rossdale’s version of T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong” - Pat Monahan of Train taking on Van Halen’s “Dance the Night Away,” and, perhaps most interestingly, india.arie and Yo-Yo Ma collaborating on The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”...
Sigur Ros mainstay-gone-solo-artist Jonsi, who just released his debut solo disc, Go, this past March, is set for a tour of North America that will now kick off in San Diego on October 15 (the U.S. dates will be prefaced by Jonsi’s run around the UK.) Jonsi’s tour dates will include stops in Los Angeles (10/17), Houston (10/27), Atlanta GA (10/31), Chicago (11/3), Detroit (11/5), and Washington DC (11/8). If you miss him on those shows, keep an eye out for a new rockumentary on Sigur Ros’ 2008 London gigs, which is in the works from director Vincent Morisse...
And in this week’s “huh?” news, pop-rapper Vanilla Ice is now working with the DIY TV network on a 10-episode series called The Vanilla Ice Project. But don’t expect to see Ice performing shows or in the recording studio (unless he decides to bust some moves while busting down a wall) - he’s reportedly a near-expert at home improvement and home carpentry, so the show will actually be a room-by-room home makeover show. Yeah, we shook our heads in disbelief too. But, hey, maybe he can at least get MC Hammer to stop by...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Singer/songwriter Ben Folds and author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch) have teamed up for a collaborative album that’s just out in stores. The set, dubbed Lonely Avenue, features lyrics by Hornby and music and vocals by Folds; legendary pop stringman Paul Buckmaster also contributes to the cool set. Check it out at www.nonesuch.com/albums/lonely-avenue.com...

MINI BUZZ:
Roger Waters has announced that he will take his Pink Floyd The Wall tour to Europe next year, where he’ll play the classic album in its entirety beginning with shows in May, 2011... Sheryl Crow has announced a trio of fall shows in England and Scotland, 10/11 in Glasgow, 10/12 in Manchester, and 10/13 in London... Farm Aid is set to celebrate its 25th anniversary at Milwaukee’s Miller Park on October 2; dubbed Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America, the show will feature Willie Nelson and fellow Farm Aid board members Neil Young, Dave Matthews, and John Mellencamp, with more artists TBA... Yellowcard, who went on “indefinite hiatus” back in 2008, have officially announced their reunion; they’ve signed a deal with Hopeless Records, and plan to have a new album out in early 2011...
The Weepies are headlining their first U.S. tour in four years in support of their fourth album, Be My Thrill, just out this past August; Weepies live dates will include stops in Minneapolis (10/27), Grand Rapids MI (11/1), Ann Arbor MI (11/2), Cleveland (11/3), Philly (11/5), and Atlanta GA (11/17)... And Tyondai Braxton has left his band, the math-rockers Battles; Braxton’s commitments to his solo work and his desire not to tour has separated him from his bandmates, who will go on as Battles without him...
And these new CD releases hope to separate you from some of the money in your pocket this week... Weezer’s much-anticipated Hurley... The Drums’ The Drums... Nellie McKay’s Home Sweet Mobile Home... and David Archuleta’s Other Side of Down... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

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