News and Updates, 2011

• Happy New Year to all Band fans !

  The Band on New Year's Eve 1971, Academy of Music, NYC:

• And we have a winner of this year's The Band Christmas Quiz! Congrats to Tage Lauridsen from Denmark.

Photo © copyright Elliott Landy. All rights reserved.
• 68 years ago, on December 29, 1943, Rick Danko was born. He is deeply missed. The music will live forever.

• "Clark Gayton and Brian Mitchell: Mardi Gras and Midnight Ramble to Fatboy Kanootch" -- article from Roll Magazine about two members of the Levon Helm Band, with great unpublished photos of Levon and Garth.

• This year's The Band Christmas Quiz is our ninth -- the first quiz appeared in 2003. Most of them have been contributed by Jonathan Katz. A little stroll down memory lane:
  • 2003 Quiz (check Dec 19, no prize this year)
  • 2004 Quiz
  • 2005 Quiz
  • 2006 Quiz
  • 2007 Quiz
  • 2008 Quiz
  • 2009 Quiz
  • 2010 Quiz

• A message from our friend Gary Solomon and his The THE BAND Band:

  

  "We're putting on a special tribute to The Band show in honor of Rick Danko's birthday on Friday, December 30, 2011, at The Turning Point, Piermont, NY. It's our mission to keep the music of The Band alive for old and new fans alike."

• "Levon Helm to Ramble for Richard Manuel and Rick Danko"

• 
  Ho-ho-ho! Santa is back again with another The Band Christmas quiz for us!

• Time to shop Christmas presents for your favorite The Band/classic rock fan: Check out the great offers from Elliott Landy's e-store -- $100 off prints, free shipping, and more.

• Good concert video available from Wolfgang's Vault: The Levon Helm Band at the Newport Folk Fest, Nov 2008. Thanks to our dear friend Stu Hruska for the link

• Levon Helm's Ramble at the Ryman is #8 on Uncut's list of the best music DVDs of 2011.

• Robbie Robertson's How to become Clairvoyant is #10 on Rolling Stone's 50 best albums of 2011 list.

• Two good, recent articles from the always well-written and insightful Roll Magazine:

  • "Maria Muldaur: Still Raising Her Voice to Inspire, Comfort and Entertain"

  • "Barry Feinstein; Legendary Photographer Dead at 80"

• On this day, 12 years ago, we lost Rick Danko. Forever young, forever missed.

• Hudson Valley's Jimmy Sturr, Levon Helm and Steve Earle nominated for Grammys (!)

• One for the history books: Ralph Stanley will perform at Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble in Woodstock, NY, Dec 2nd. I have to move to upstate NY. Now.

• The Last Waltz Classic Rock Weekend -- starting this Friday on radio Q107. Thanks to Jan Ingemann Sørensen for the link.

• A little update on the Dawes and their connections with both(!) Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, from ATO Records' Marty Nolan:

  As most of you saw earlier this year, Robbie hand-picked Los Angeles based Dawes to be his backing band for a string of national television performances in support of his new album including the Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the View, and Later with Jools Holland. The pairing was born out of Dawes' lead singer, Taylor Goldsmith, being recuirted to sing background vocals with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood on one of the songs on . In Rolling Stone, Robbie claims "They're really good and they're a band - it's different than just getting a bunch of individual musicians and trying to make them click and blend. The guys are already in the blend, so that's great. They're all at the top of their game...they know what works. I appreciated a young band with a broad horizon. Dawes is that in spades. Dawes had actually performed up at Big Pink last summer as part of a new series in development called Live from Big Pink. The intimate show was filmed and recorded on a multi-track console, and with any luck, we will see it make the light of day at some point in the near future. Dawes are currently on the road in support of their new album, Nothing Is Wrong and will return to Woodstock in early December to perform with Levon at the Midnight Ramble with Jimmy Vivino and a special guest. All seats have sold out but a limited quantity of standing room tickets still remain for the 12/3 show.

• Classic Albums Live, The Band: The Last Waltz, "note for note, cut for cut," Massey Hall, Toronto, Nov 25, 2011.

  Thanks to our dear Brown Eyed Girl for this link. More great links from BEG can often be found in our guestbook, here are a few examples from the last couple of days:

  • Rare(?) 1978 interview with Robertson and Scorsese.

  • "Long Black Veil" -- Festival Express outtake

  • Video of Robbie taking you through the Clairvoyant... ltd. ed. set page by page

  • 2001 Canadian Robbie Robertson documentary with Rob Bowman: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

• Live in Denver and Boulder, CO in November: The Last Waltz, Revisited.

• Video from CBC Canada: Mansbridge One on One with Robbie Robertson, program aired last Saturday. Thanks to BEG for the link.

• Friday November 18, at the Ulster Performing Arts Centre in Kingston, NY: "Shelter from the Storm" -- a concert with The Levon Helm Band featuring special guests Donald Fagen, Natalie Merchant, Graham Parker, John Medeski, Chris Wood and more TBA. This is a benefit gig for the victims of tropical storm Irene.

Hard Rock Cafe & Cambria Present The 35th Anniversary of The Last Waltz With very special guest "Rompin'" Ronnie Hawkins! Thursday, November 24th, 2011 Hard Rock Cafe Toronto 279 Yonge Street (at Yonge & Dundas), Toronto 6pm-Close Tickets Available at ticketscene.ca Or visit The Hard Rock Cafe Toronto Rock Shop (279 Yonge Street) 416-362-3636 Toronto's Hard Rock Cafe at Yonge & Dundas is built on the original site where Bob Dylan first met The Hawks in the mid-60's. During the 1960's Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks (later to become The Band) ruled Yonge street and pioneered Canadian Rock & Roll. Please join us as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Band's Last Waltz at the very site where it all began. VIP Package includes: Thanksgiving Style Dinner (as it was served to those who attended the original Last Waltz Concert) Q&A with Ronnie Hawkins in person! Yonge Street 60's style DJ dance party, with Go-Go Dancers, and Rock & Soul tracks personally selected by Ronnie Hawkins. Visit Hard Rock Cafe's Last Waltz and Bob Dylan original memorabilia displays Swag including Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt, tote bag, Last Waltz replica lanyard & vintage style poster Plus Amazing Raffle prizes, including Dylan & The Band CD's

• Band gigs 0.10.

• Robbie Robertson Appears on "One on One With Peter Mansbridge" Saturday, November 12 On The CBC Network -- link provided by Peter Stekel.

• New November and December concert dates from levonhelm.com.

• From garthhudson.com:

  Saturday, November 5, 8:00 PM - Garth Hudson joins Gent Treadly as special guest for this extraordinary evening of blues-based rock and roll. This event is to raise awareness and benefit the Musicians Aid Society of New York. Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck, NY. Tickets: 914.698.0098 or click here. Please come show your support!

• Band gigs 0.9.

• "Bob Dylan on booing and walking out - 1966" -- outtake from Martin Scorsese's Dylan doc No Direction Home, with Rick Danko (speaking at 00:53) and Robbie Robertson.

• Garth Hudson plays on the new album Coal Mining Blues from Matt Andersen.

• "Levon Helm Studios among those honored at Ulster Business Recognition Awards" -- article from the Poughkeepsie Journal yesterday.

• Robbie Robertson's appearance live in Philadelphia, Oct 29, 2011, has been cancelled.

• New gig dates for Jim Weider.

• Legendary photographer Barry Feinstein, who took many iconic photos of The Band and Dylan (including pics from Tour '74 and the cover of Before the Flood), has passed away in Woodstock, 80 years old. An in-depth profile of Feinstein can be found in the current issue of Roll magazine.

• Band gigs 0.8.

• Good music for a good cause: The New Paltz Flood Aid concert in Hasbrouck Park, New Paltz, NY, on Sunday, October 16th, featuring Randy Ciarlante and Jim Weider from The Band, several of the musicians from Levon Helm's Ramble/touring band, and many other quality acts. Get your tickets and/or make a donation at newpaltzfloodaid.org.

• Band gigs 0.7, with more complete venue names and several new entries. JT the man!

• "Sandwiches and Coke with Taplin" -- photo found on Facebook, posted by Carol Caffin.

• Band gigs 0.6.

• Band gigs 0.5.

• Our "starting point" for creating the definitive list of Band gigs (yes, with set lists and posters and tickets and reviews and whatnot to be included later) is still growing. Version 0.4 is updated with entries from the tape archive and input from fans and collectors.

• New October and November Midnight Rambles and concert dates with the Levon Helm Band.

• Robbie Robertson live in Philadelphia, Oct 29, 2011 . Thanks to Tim Wood for the link.

• Band gigs 0.3.

• Two links lifted from our own guestbook:

  • "The Band singer Levon Helm on throat cancer and music" -- interview/video from BBC UK today.

  • "Robbie Robertson to Make Rare Live Appearance", on Wednesday, October 5. Robertson will appear at Los Angeles' The Clive Davis Theater at The Grammy Museum for an interview, Q&A session and a live performance.

• Here's version 0.2 of our Band gig list, updated with info. from Peter Viney++.

• OK, let's try to compile a complete list of Band gigs, where we can add posters, tickets, reviews and what not. We're starting here ('64-'76). Contributions and corrections welcome. And thanks to Mr JT for this inital list.

• Garth Hudson live in NY November 5th!

• "Robbie Robertson Discusses His New Box Set" -- video interview from The Wall Street Journal.

• Happy Birthday, dear Maud Hudson!

• Garth Hudson will play at the Hudson Valley Artists Hurricane Relief Concert, Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY Sunday, September 18, 2011.

• "Robbie Robertson On The Break-Up Of The Band " -- YouTube clip from an April 2011 interview.

• New gig dates for Jim Weider.

• Levon Helm will receive the Wonderful World Award from The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine on Monday, September 19. See wehealny.org for more info.

• More fall gigs and Midnight Rambles with the Levon Helm Band have been announced, see levonhelm.com for details.

• The 1972 album Bobby Charles, featuring four Band members, has been re-released as a 3-CD set by Rhino, with lots of previously unissued tracks. Thanks to Doug Wilber for the link.

• Garth and Maud Hudson appear on the track "Us and Them" on Return To The Dark Side Of The Moon, a Pink Floyd tribute covermount disc of the October 2011 isse of UK music mag Mojo. The track is available from YouTube.

• Levon Helm plays on David Bromberg's new album Use Me. Info. provided by our old friend and Dutch bass maestro Harm van Sleen.

• Photos/video stills from The Band's 1974 gig at Wembley Stadium in London, UK, are available from ukrockfestivals.com. We also "liberated" good-quality scans of the concert posters for our archives. Thanks to Peter Viney for the link.

• "How to Play Guitar Like The Band's Robbie Robertson" -- new article from gibson.com.

• Roll Magazine has an excellent article about Catherine Sebastian and her work as a photographer. She's the wife of John Sebastian, a Woodstock resident and a friend of Levon Helm and the Band. Her artwork can be seen on Levon's RCO All-Stars album. Thanks to Tom Grasso for the link.

• New August and September concert dates for Garth & Maud Hudson have been announced! Check garthandmaud.com for details and ticket info.

• The Levon Helm Band will be on the road and also do several Midnight Rambles this fall. More information available from levonhelm.com.

• 
  The Band at the third and final day of Woodstock '69, 42 years ago today.

• Garth Hudson on facebook yesterday:

  "Maud and I will be in Seattle, Washington headlining the Port Gamble Rock'n'Blues Fest on Sunday, August 28. Also August 27 we are guests with Eric Fridrich at Bellevue's Cypress Lounge and Wine Bar for the same cause."

• And here's even more great interviews from the 1984 reunion video.

• From YouTube: Levon and Richard talking about The Band. The interview is one of several inter-cut excerpts from the 1984 The Band Is Back reunion concert video.

• Both Levon Helm and Rick Danko can be heard playing on the 2010 release New Jersey To Woodstock from Kathy McCord. Thanks to Hideki Watanabe for the update.

• Exclusive free download at robbie-robertson.com: "Fear of Falling" from How to Become Clairvoyant.

• Levon Helm appears on the new Hank Williams tribute The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams, due for release in October.

• "Night of the Tuna" -- article from The Herald Leader about the first album of new Hot Tuna studio songs in over 20 years, recorded at Levon Helm's Studio and produced by Larry Campbell. Link provided by Paul Schoninger.

• Added Jeff Newsom's The Henhouse Tapes to the list of albums with Band covers. May you rest in peace, Rollie.

• Garth Hudson will be performing with Jim Weider's PROJECT PERCoLAToR at the Iridium Jazz Club in NYC on September 21, 2011. See jimweider.com for details and more gig dates with the great Jim Weider.

• An exhibition of our friend Bill Scheele's photographs, titled "Bob Dylan & The Band: Woodstock to California 1973-75" is on display at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, in Bethel, NY, through the end of August. Bill will be giving a slide show presentation on Friday, August 12th, the same day that Bob Dylan & Leon Russell play a concert there!

• 
  It's Garth Hudson's birthday today! We send our best wishes to Garth and Maud.