Here Comes George Harrison

Dec. 18, 2002

A tribute album to the late, great “quiet Beatle,“ George Harrison, has finally been completed, and includes covers of Harrison‘s songs from a stellar roster of musicians. Among the talent contributing to the disc are Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn, The Kinks‘ Dave Davies, Ultravox‘s Midge Ure, Donovan, Julian Lennon, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, The Smithereens, and the late John Entwistle (The Who), whose version of “Here Comes the Sun“ is also slated for inclusion on the album. Look for the Harrison tribute disc -
titled *Songs From the Material World* - in stores on February 25th, which would also have been Harrison‘s 60th birthday...

England‘s Manchester Circle Club is holding an auction to raise funds for the M.A.G. - otherwise known as the Mines Advisory Group - which works to help reduce the impact of unexploded landmines. Among the available items will be memorabilia from the likes of The Verve, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Doves,
Coldplay, Elbow, Badly Drawn Boy, Charlatans, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and
many, many more - peruse the offerings (hint: great holiday gifts for the music fan!) and bid online to help save lives at www.mag.org.uk...

Ex-Smashing Pumpkin guru Billy Corgan‘s new band Zwan has settled on a name and a release date for their debut album - Zwan‘s *Mary Star of the Sea* will be in stores on January 28th, complete with drumming by fellow ex-Smashing Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlain...

The “new“ Doors, the revamped band now being fronted by The Cult singer Ian Astbury, has had to postpone their debut tour due to drummer Stewart Copeland‘s (The Police) recent bicycling accident, which left Copeland with a broken arm. The first “new Doors“ show will now take place on January 19th in Las Vegas, with a full tour expected to begin sometime in summer 2003; an album is also planned for release next fall...

West Los Angeles played host to the 1st Annual AntiFest last week (presented by internet music site AntiMusic), with the show being opened by a “surprise“ band that turned out to be the long-lost Rembrandts, who rocked the crowd with a long set of Rembrandts tunes and covers - and who even managed to *not* play their biggest hit, the theme from the TV show “Friends.“ Also
taking the stage during the rainy event were indie bands WaxApples, Solarcade, Bronco Tatonka, Twelvehourmary, and Lowfive (featuring Nick Lucero of Queens of the Stone Age) - get the whole scoop at www.antifest.com...

And the Electraglide Festival in Tokyo, Japan is prepping to welcome tons of electronica fans on December 13th - wanna go? A 7,500 yen ticket will get you in to see some of today‘s most cutting-edge electronica acts, including
Squarepusher, X-Press 2, Andrew Weatherall, Tim Deluxe, and Yoshinori Sunahara...

MINI BUZZ:
Montreal rockers Slaves on Dope are currently in their hometown working on pre-production for their next album, which will be recorded in Florida with producer Jason Slater and is scheduled for a Spring 2003 release...
Self-proclaimed punk-popster Avril Lavigne will be heading to Europe in March for a 17-date headlining tour...New York alt-synth duo Fischerspooner will drop their debut disc, *#1,* on February 25th - the album will also include a second disc, dubbed *DVD #1,*
which will feature music videos, documentaries, and live performance
footage... Peter Garrett, the distinctive lead singer of the politically-active Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has announced that he‘s quitting the band to pursue other interests...
The new Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant movie “Two Weeks Notice“ will be accompanied by a soundtrack that will include a Counting Crows/Vanessa Carlton cover version of the Joni Mitchell tune “Big Yellow Taxi“...

And new in stores this week are new musical offerings from Ghost (*Under the Moonlight*)... New Order (*Retro*)... Green Pajamas (*Northern Gothic*)... and Dashboard Confessional (*Unplugged 2.0*), plus the DVD release of *Come Together: A Night for John Lennon‘s Words and Music*... and that‘s the buzz for this week‘s Modern Rock.

*Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Bribes? Send ‘em all to Kristi at
expressmodernrock@hotmail.com!*