Mitch Mitchell, drummer for Hendrix, found dead

Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday. He was 61.

Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band's 1967 debut album "Are You Experienced?" as well as the trio's albums "Electric Ladyland" and "Axis: Bold As Love." He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression."

The Englishman had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on the West Coast part of the tour.

Hendrix died in 1970. Bass player Noel Redding died in 2003.

An employee at Portland's Benson Hotel called police after discovering Mitchell's body.

Erin Patrick, a deputy medical examiner, said Mitchell apparently died of natural causes. An autopsy was planned.

"He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend," said Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the Experience Hendrix Tour and Jimi Hendrix' stepsister. "His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated."

Bob Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, said Mitchell had stayed in Portland for a four-day vacation and planned to leave Wednesday.

"It was a devastating surprise," Merlis said. "Nobody drummed like he did."

He said he saw Mitchell perform two weeks ago in Los Angeles, and the drummer appeared to be healthy and upbeat.

Merlis said the tour was designed to bring together veteran musicians who had known Hendrix — like Mitchell — and younger artists, such as Grammy-nominated winner Jonny Lang, who have been influenced by him.

Blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who is 31 and was part of the tour, said Mitchell was to the drums what Hendrix was to the guitar.

"Today many of us have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a rock n' roll hero," he said.

Mitchell was a one-of-a-kind drummer whose "jazz-tinged" style was influenced by Max Roach and Elvin Jones, Merlis said. The work was a vital part of both the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the 1960s and the Experience Hendrix Tour that ended last week, he said.

"If Jimi Hendrix were still alive," Merlis said, "he would have acknowledged that."

During his career Mitchell played with the best in the business — not just Hendrix, but also Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Keith Richards, Jack Bruce, Jeff Beck, Muddy Waters and others.

Mitchell performed with Hendrix and Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, the U.S. debut of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He also was member of a later version of the band that performed the closing set of the Woodstock Festival in August 1969 — where Hendrix played a psychedelic version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the band launched into "Purple Haze."

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1992. According to the Hall of Fame, Mitchell was born July 9, 1947, in Ealing, England.

Terry Stewart, chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, said Mitchell transformed his instrument from a "strictly percussive element to a lead instrument."

"His interplay with Jimi Hendrix's guitar on songs like 'Fire' is truly amazing," Stewart said Wednesday. "Mitch Mitchell had a massive influence on rock 'n' roll drumming and took it to new heights."

Hendrix, Redding and Mitchell held their first rehearsal in October 1966, according to the Hall of Fame's Web site.

In an interview last month with the Boston Herald, Mitchell said he met Hendrix "in this sleazy little club."

"We did some Chuck Berry and took it from there," Mitchell told the newspaper. "I suppose it worked."

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Flash drives offer new choices for music fans

When the Mars Volta put out its latest album, "The Bedlam in Goliath," in January, the act gave its hardcore fans an option that is becoming increasingly popular -- and creative.

Instead of a CD or digital version of the Universal album, fans could buy a $30 USB drive designed like a Ouija board planchette. The device comes with a digital-rights-management-free version of the album and the promise of more bonus materials in coming months. Users simply plug it into their computer's USB drive and then listen to the album or download it into their music library.

The Mars Volta joins a growing number of recording artists who have experimented with USB releases in recent months, among them Jennifer Lopez, Ringo Starr and Matchbox Twenty.

More are expected in coming months. Austin-based All Access, the company behind USB releases from Matchbox Twenty and Starr, has signed deals with EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group to make USB bracelets for other artists.

"The selling point to the labels is a really good one -- it's a marriage between merchandise and music so that people will at least buy it instead of stealing it because they want the merchandise," All Access CEO Chris Guggenheim said. "It's the only for-sure non-stolen product."

HIGHER MANUFACTURING COSTS

At this point, the releases are offered more as collectibles to build fan loyalty than as sources of revenue.

The cost of putting an album out on a USB drive is pricier than releasing it on a CD, partly because bands aren't placing bulk orders and partly because flash drives cost more than discs. Guggenheim said that bracelets generally cost $5 to $7 per unit. But costs can rise to $17 per unit or more for flash drives with more memory and other additions.

Universal doesn't expect to make money on the 2,000 USB units it put out for the Mars Volta release or on the 2,000 USB units it will put out for Erykah Badu's February 26 release, "Nu AmErykah," Universal senior vice president of digital business development Cameo Carlson said.

But it does expect to keep fans connected to both acts. Those who buy the Mars Volta USB stick get a new extra on the 29th of each month, ranging from bonus tracks to wallpaper. Badu will create new bonus features throughout the year for those who buy "Nu AmErykah" on USB.

"It's not for everybody," Carlson said. "It's for the hardcore fan that wants tons of pictures, who really wants something more and the opportunity to get new stuff every month."

For bands, USB drives offer a cooler way to get their music to fans in a souvenir package that fans can wear or carry with them, giving the band free promotion.

Starr wore a wristband containing his latest album, "Liverpool 8," to the Grammy Awards, getting attention for the release that a CD jewel case certainly wouldn't. Guggenheim said that about one wristband is sold for every three CDs of Starr's album.

In October, Matchbox Twenty released its latest album, "Exile on Mainstream," on USB bracelets, putting out an initial 25,000 units. Manager Michael Lippman said that "tens of thousands" have been sold.

ROOM FOR EXTRAS

"USB is going to be the future," Lippman said. "You don't have to download it on a computer, you put it in and it comes up, (and) there's plenty of room to add additional material."

Some indie bands have turned to USB drives for releases because they can order fewer units and spend less money than they would for an order of 1,000 CDs, said Ed Donnelly, president of Los Angeles-based Aderra, which makes drives for Barenaked Ladies, Jars of Clay and indie bands like Los Angeles' Killola. Acts can place orders for as few as 100 USB drives preloaded with their album and other goodies.

Along with the songs from the album, Matchbox Twenty included its first video, behind-the-scenes footage, pictures and an Internet link to the band's site.

Based on the success of its album sales on USB, the band is selling bracelets of its live show at concerts during its current tour. All Access replicates the bracelets after a concert in minutes. The bracelets are quickly sent to the merchandising booths, where fans can buy a recording of the show they just saw as they leave. Each bracelet costs the same as one of the band's concert T-shirts.

Barenaked Ladies, considered the pioneers of USB releases, put out "Barenaked on a Stick" in 2005, a 128 MB flash drive loaded with 29 previously released songs plus videos and other content. The band followed it up with souvenir flash drives at its 2006 concerts in support of "Barenaked Ladies Are Me." The concert USB keys came loaded with the new album, live tracks, ringtones and videos for $25.

Willie Nelson, Jars of Clay and the Black Crowes also have sold USB bracelets at concerts.

Bands typically sell the drives to 5 percent of their audience at a show, depending on how tech-savvy the crowd is.

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Orac Records schedules Conrad Schnitzler remixes

Experimental-techno label Orac Records has recently turned its attention to the past, announcing an as-yet-untitled series featuring remixes of the work of Conrad Schniztler. A student of Josef Beuys, an early member of Tangerine Dream, and the co-founder of Krautrock legends Kluster, Schnitzler is perhaps most famous for his cassette concerts featuring a megaphone-wired Walkman attached to a helmet on his head.

Dandy Jack, Thomas Fehlmann, and Bruno Pronsato are among the modern-day heads tackling source material from Schniztler albums like Solo Sq. Rhythmics 1-18 and Solo Electrics 1-13. As Orac co-founder Randy Jones told Earplug, "The mixers have very different approaches to structuring Schnitzler's hermetic sounds in a dance-music context." It's not the first time anyone has set out to remix Schnitzler's work: a similar volume (featuring Carsten Nicolai, Rehberg & Bauer, and Mika Vainio) was planned and aborted a decade ago by the late Norbert Schilling's Plate Lunch Records — the previous outlet for all things Schnitzler. The Orac compilation drops this spring.

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The Who planning new album and festival shows

British rockers The Who have begun mulling their next studio album, on the heels of 2006's "Endless Wire," their first new disc in 24 years.

According to a post on TheWho.com (http://www.thewho.com) from Pete Townshend, the band is considering working with producer T-Bone Burnett, who recently brought Robert Plant and Alison Krauss together for the commercial and critical hit album "Raising Sand."

"I am hoping to come up with some songs for a more conventional Who record," Townshend wrote, adding that Burnett "is an old friend of mine."

The Who may also play "some shows in the festival season this summer," Townshend said. "I would want to do that purely for fun, and I don't want to turn it into a big tour. I need to stay focused on my writing."

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Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986

By Mat Strowbridge

Strut, out February 25th.

In a nutshell…

Distinctive and slow-paced 80s dub.

What's it all about?

A taster of works from the legendary Compass Point studio which, although hosting artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Bjork and Mariah Carey, is famed for its extended, dub mixes.

This collection might run at over an hour but it spans a broad enough range of flavours to keep your attention throughout. Whether it's early electro or bass-driven reggae that your looking for there are extracts of both smeared across the thirteen tunes here.

Who's it by?

Back when eight-tracks were still around and the handle-bar moustache was a sign of masculinity, Chris Blackwell set up his own studio in the Bahamas and invited all his friends over to play.

Since then the man who produced Bob Marley and founded Island records has gone on to bigger and better things but still the memory of the early Compass Point studios lives on.

These artists who passed through Blackwell's sacred hands include everyone from Grace Jones to Talking Heads and Sly Dunbar.

As an example...

"Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail?/I'm gonna have some fun/What do you consider fun?/Fun, natural fun!" –Tom Tom Club – Genius Of Love (12" version)

What the others say

"It is a sound which defined an era… This was vibe music which has remained timeless on dancefloors ever since." –Underground Hip-Hop

"While the story of Compass Point is as rich as it is influential, something still puzzles me. Why no AC/DC? With Back in Black being recorded there in 1980, it would have only been right to include a piece from a project of that magnitude." –URB Magazine

So is it any good?

As a whole this is definitely a positive outing and yet track-by-track some of the tunes lack the certain calibre that you'd expect.

Given the number of quality Compass Point artists, why people like Guy Cuevas make it onto the record is confusing enough but even the chosen Talking Heads and Gwen Guthrie songs aren't as strong as they could have been.

This is a bitter let down and means things start to lag a little towards the half-hour point. The mood begins to feel uninspired and you'd be excused for thinking you were listening to some other mindless compilation.

However, Sly Dunbar's 'River Niger' is a signal for things to improve and the last five tracks come together well to be as good as anything elsewhere. Then, pair these with the offering from Tom Tom Club (their sound still so current it could easily be a new CSS jangle) and the peaks do eclipse the troughs.

In truth, it might not be a bad compilation but with a little more tweaking it's sad that this could have been a brilliant one.

6/10

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Peter Christopherson (Coil) announces SoiSong

Coil and Throbbing Gristle founder Peter Christopherson recently announced the birth of his latest musical project, SoiSong. Hinted at as being his next priority after Gristle and Coil, SoiSong is a collaborative effort between himself and longtime associate Ivan Pavlov, who also records under the moniker COH. According to Christopherson, SoiSong 'will combine Ivan's uncompromisingly-visceral computer based music with Sleazy's decadent, dark and whimsical approach to artificial vocals and 'South Seas' instrumentation'. SoiSong's live debut will occur in Japan this March, followed by live dates in Bangkok, Singapore, as well as some European appearances between May and July. SoiSong's first EP, "SOI-JIN-NO-HI" will be available in March as a free download from www.thresholdhouse.com, as well as a special edition available exclusively from the band at their performances.

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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds announce European tour

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will return to the UK and Ireland this spring as part of a European live tour.

The band, whose excitably-titled new album DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!! is released through Mute on the 3rd of March, will play the local leg in May.

Full details, as ever, below:

April
21 Lisbon Coliseum
22 Porto Coliseum
24 San Sebastian Polideportivo Anoeta
25 Barcelona Razzmatazz
26 Marseilles Docks Du Suds
28 Amsterdam Music Hall
29 Paris Casino Du Paris

May
1 Brussels Forest
3 Dublin Castle
4 Glasgow Academy
5 Birmingham Academy
7 London Hammersmith Apollo
16 Oslo Spektrum
17 Stockholm Annexe
19 Copenhagen KB Halle
21 Berlin Tempodrom
24 Prague Sazka Arena
25 Vienna Gasometer

June
3 Zagreb IN Music Festival
4 Belgrade Arena
6 Salonika Moni Lazariston
7 Athens Lycabetus Theatre

The shows are the band’s first since the Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus tour sold out as 2004 turned into 2005 and tickets go on sale this Friday (1st Feb) at 9am.

The first single to be taken from the album, also its title track, is released on the 18th of February. The video’s always worth a watch. Yes?

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Tyler Ramsey "A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea"

If you are one of these people who hates reviews full of comparisons and references to other bands and musicians, you should probably stop reading now. This one will have plenty of them. On his latest album, A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea, Tyler Ramsey ploughs the same fields as Neil Young and plumbs the same ethereal depths as Ray LaMontagne. With his nimble, atmospheric guitar playing, Ramsey enters the same rarefied territory occupied by Willy Porter and the other acoustic guitar wizards that seem to escape mainstream attention. It’s a blissfully wonderful achievement and the North Carolinian singer/songwriter has scored the first great late-night chill-out album of 2008.

The Magnetic Fields are currently earning praise for restoring meaning to album titles by employing distortion on Distortion. Ramsey deserves credit as well. His soothing melodies and harmonies truly do have the feel of a long dream and from A Long Dream’s opening notes, Ramsey draws you into his pacific world where you can float along on his warm comforting vocals and weightless acoustic guitar.

Owing a slight debt to LaMontagne, Ramsey explores different ranges of hushed quietude, drawing resounding resonance from the silence between notes. Lyrically, Ramsey isn’t as devastatingly introspective as LaMontagne but he does get pretty contemplative. The opening couplet of “A Long Dream” and “Ships” set the disc’s tone and begin Ramsey’s peaceful journey; once on his way, he never missteps.

On the middle of the album, Ramsey goes into Neil Young country mode with “No One Goes Out” and “When I Wake” sounding like they could have come from any of Shakey’s Harvest sessions. “Once In Your Life” is the most adventurous and interesting track Ramsey crafts a three-part suite that cycles through moods much like Buffalo Springfield’s “Broken Arrow,” starting out as a simple Young-influenced acoustic track, moving into upbeat Sixties-style garage-pop and finishing with an upbeat guitar and piano jam. Ramsey also works in some especially nifty and slightly funky slide guitar on the instrumental “Chinese New Year”

Ramsey makes some interesting choices with his arrangements. For “Please Stop Time,” the closing track, Ramsey plays his guitar in concert with his mournful, patient vocals instead of a complementary melody. The decision gives the seemingly simple track an understated complexity and makes for a poignant finale that eases into the peaceful wash of the ocean tide.

Over the autumn months, Ramsey opened numerous shows for Band Of Horses, eventually turning the gig into a full time job with the critically beloved band. You can only hope that joining a group that had their latest release end up on scores of Best of 2007 lists doesn’t obscure the release of Ramsey’s achingly beautiful solo release.

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The Stones Sign One-Off Deal With Universal

Universal Music has snagged the Rolling Stones for the soundtrack to Shine a Light, a concert film directed by Martin Scorsese and centered around footage from a Beacon Theatre concert (featuring Jack White of the White Stripes, Buddy Guy, and Christina Aguilera!). Set to hit worldwide screens in April, the movie also has its fair share of rare archive clips. As for the soundtrack, expect digital and physical formats in March.

"We are really proud to be working with The Rolling Stones and so is everybody in Universal Music globally," UMG International chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement.

The Stones' current label, EMI/Virgin, declined to comment on why it isn't releasing the record, but a spokeswoman told Billboard that the company continues to have a working relationship with the band. Whether that will be true in the coming months remains to be seen. According to Billboard, the group's contract is almost up. In fact, they may be looking to pull a Madonna by signing with Artist Nation, the new record label branch of major concert promoter Live Nation. (Artist Nation's president, promoter Michael Cohl, has worked with the Stones for a while now.)

While Universal Music already owns the 1963-1970 period of the Stones' catalog, the band has control of its catalog from Sticky Fingers onward. If they left EMI now, they'd take 14 studio albums with them.

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