Something tells me it’s going to be difficult to hail a cab today.
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February 2010
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of checking out the legendary “Queen of Rock,” Miss Wanda Jackson, as she hit Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory.
Although the evening was supposed to start rather early (with Wanda hitting the stage around 9pm), Snowmageddon caused a delay in her flight, and the 72-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was coming directly from the airport to the gig. Openers Luster Kings vamped their set with jokes comparing Wanda to Santa Claus (or Waldo), asking the audience “Where’s Wanda?” and giving updates on her current status (“She’s landed! She’s on the ground.”)
I was thinking about how much travel takes out of you and wondering if Miss Wanda would be tired, but as soon as she sauntered onto the stage, there was no doubt — this lil’ lady still had it, and was raring to go!
Dressed in sensible black wedge shoes, black pants, and a sparkly red blouse with a diamante musical note pin, Wanda was ready to rock — thanking the crowd for their enthusiastic welcome. She played the hits — “I Gotta Know,” “Mean, Mean Man,” a cover version of “Hard-Headed Woman” and a rendition of her Japanese number one rock and roll single, “Fujiyama Mama” — putting her famous growl into the sassy pro-female lyrics of the songs.
Wanda was full of stories, narrating the chronology of her career between songs. Mid-way through the set she mentioned her newest single, a cover of “You Know I’m No Good,” released as a 7-inch record out on Jack White’s Third Man Records, and how she wanted to play the song, but didn’t have any time to rehearse for it.
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Binki Shapiro of Little Joy has gotten a TON of top-notch musicians, artists, and celebrities to contribute custom made artwork and items for her Crafts for a Cause auction. All proceeds will be donated to Artists for Peace and Justice, a charitable organization started by filmmaker Paul Haggis.
The online auction will begin on March 15th, but for now you can check on Binki’s Tumblr blog for the event which features teaser shots of some of the goods that will be for sale. Contributers are a who’s who of popular indie rock and mainstream musicians (Daft Punk, The Strokes, Norah Jones, No Doubt, Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Mark Ronson, Adam Green, SIA, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, just to name a few!!!) and film celebs (Spike Jonze, Natalie Portman).
Photo of Fab Moretti and Nick Valensi with the signed bag from The Strokes from the Crafts for a Cause site
You’ll find hand-drawn artwork, signed canvas bags, designed t-shirts, embellished guitars, and much more.
Sounds like an amazing collection of artists helping out for a great cause. Don’t forget — March 15th the auction starts online!
Here’s a video of SIA creating the wallet she donated:
SIA for Crafts For A Cause! from binki shapiro on Vimeo.
Plenty more info on the Crafts for a Cause website or on Binki Shapiro’s Twitter
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Another glimmer of hope about the fourth Strokes album has surfaced courtesy of an interview with Fabrizio Moretti on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show. According to Moretti, the band may be ready to release their long-awaited follow-up album to 2006′s First Impressions of Earth as early as September 2010.
The band reported from their site a the start of this month that they are currently in the studio with Grammy-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli and engineer Gus Oberg in NYC.
The fabulous five-some are scheduled to make a live comeback with a headlining spots at this year’s Isle Of Wight and Rockness festivals in June.
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When he’s not dropping the hammer on the Air Force Reserve, Jack White keeps busy with a bevy of musical endeavors.
Quickly:
- Third Man released a limited Black Belles seven-inch, which features a song Jack penned for this new all-female group he put together.
- Jack recently signed a new band, Mildred and the Mice, which features female vocals from a woman that certainly looks a heck of a lot like his wife, Karen Elson (see below).
- The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll (and recent Jack White collaborator), Wanda Jackson, will be performing in NY tomorrow at the Knitting Factory.
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Jack White has certainly had some well-publicized beefs in the past, but this major beef that started with a smack-down on the Air Force Reserve and beat its way down to a lone Salt Lake City-based 56-year-old ad and film musician named Kem Kraft.
It all started when The White Stripes took great offense to a recent Air Force Reserve advertisement that aired during the Super Bowl containing a song that sounded eerily similar to “Fell In Love with a Girl.” This prompted the band to post this statement on the Third Man Records website:
We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management.
The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.
The White Stripes support this nation’s military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them. We simply don’t want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.
We have not licensed this song to the Air Force Reserve and plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music.
Watch a video of the “Extreme” ad on the Huffington Post site or on Bing
The original song by the Stripes:
The Air Force Reserve then passed the blame over to the ad company they hired, responding with the following statement:
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