The Dude covers Waits

According to several news sources actor Jeff Bridges is recording an album with songs written by The Dude himself as well as material from others, such as Tom Waits.

Raindogs revisited

The Raindogs Revisited concert is a co-production by The Barbican, Les Nuits de Fourvière, La Salle Pleyel and Montreux Jazz Festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Raindogs album.

The performances will bring together a band that will offer a "similar, although not quite identical, array of the rich instrumental variety intended by Waits". Performers include David Coulter (musical director, saw, guitar, banjo, percussions...), Leo Abrahams (guitar), Terry Edwards (saxophones, trumpet), Steve Nieve (piano), Thomas Bloch (Ondes Martenot, Cristal Baschet, Glassharmonica...), Tom Herbert (bass), Seb Rochford (drums, percussions) and the Tiger Lillies.

Tour dates I've been able to gather so far:

• Jul 10 - Lyon (FR) -  Les Nuits de Fourvière 
• Jul. 11 - Montreux (CH) - Montreux Jazz Festival
• Jul 13 - London (UK) - The Barbican
• Nov. 20 - Eindhoven (NL) - Muziekgebouw
• Nov. 22 - Paris (FR) -  La Salle Pleyel

On a related note: Rolling Stone rates Raindogs as the #21 best album of the eighties. 

#5 live band

British newspaper The Telegraph rates Tom Waits as the 5th best live band.

The top 10:

1. The Rolling Stones
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Tom Waits
6. Iggy & The Stooges
7. The White Stripes
8. Patti Smith
9. Bob Marley & The Wailers
10. U2

B1G T1ME performance

Chicago tribute band B1G T1ME will be performing tomorrow (Wed. April 20) at Quenchers in Chicago Il. (2401 N. Western Ave.

The monster of Nix voice

Tom Waits joins the voice cast of The Monster of Nix, the latest film by Dutch artist/filmmaker Rosto.


The Monster of Nix is a 30-minute animated musical which tells the story of a troubled boy who fights the destructive force of an all-devouring monster in the village of Nix. Tom Waits gives his voice to one of the main characters, Virgil, a terrifying giant pitch-black swallow.

Rosto:

'Tom Waits was always the main inspiration for the dark and theatrical appearance of Virgil. But I had never expected to actually have the privilege to work with Tom. The results are gobsmacking."

This dark fairy tale is scheduled to premiere this summer at the Annecy Animated Film Festival in France.

Vinyl exchange

It looks likes the Tom Waits camp is taking the complaints about the poor quality of the vinyl re-issues of  Closing time, Nighthawks at the diner, Small change and The heart of Saturday night serioulsy. You have time until April 18 to request a replacement.

(I have no idea if the red vinyl issues will be replaced by another red vinyl copy or by a (regular) black one.)


From ANTI and TomWaits.com:

Dear Tom Waits fans,

As you may or may not have heard or read, there were pressing discrepancies with the first round of Tom Waits vinyl re-issues from Rhino. While it was reportedly not on all pieces of vinyl, it was enough to investigate the issues related to this. All of us here Kings Road as well as Tom himself have heard about this from friends, fans and even family in addition to customers. We have been very concerned with resolving this since the first mention of this came to our attention, and we have been answering any and all complaints on a customer-by-customer basis, all the while resolving this with the companies involved.

Please only use the appropriate option.

IF YOU PURCHASED FROM KINGS ROAD USA:

Please go to the URL: http://www.kingsroadmerch.com/tomwaits-vinylexchange and enter your ORDER # and EMAIL ADDRESS that you used to make the order. This will allow you to select which records you would like replaced and create a request. You will receive new VINYL shipped in a white sleeve when product is finished. You will not be sent a new cover as those didn’t have pressing errors.

IF YOU PURCHASED FROM KINGS ROAD EUROPE:

Please email: support@kingsroadmerch.eu with the title “TOM WAITS VINYL EXCHANGE” with your order number and titles you would like to replace.

IF YOU PURCHASED FROM A RECORD STORE:

Please contact Rhino & WEA directly via email at drrhino@rhino.com to arrange an exchange.

Return Requests will be taken until Monday April 18th, 2011 so we can order replacements.

The time frame on this replacement is still being determined. New acetates have been approved by Gavin and test presses are currently in motion for Tom’s approval. Once approved, pressing could take another 4-6 weeks. When we have more information, we will notify all of those who request a replacement on what to expect and when. But just know that proper resolution of this will be handled at no cost to you should you want this resolved.

This was a project that we here and the Waits family were very excited to make happen. For Tom as an artist, audio quality and fidelity are his main concern. For everyone else involved on a personal and professional level, we stand by quality of what we sell, even if we don’t manufacture it ourselves. You ordered a very special set of records and from the perspective of someone who has heard the intended audio in Gavin Lurssen’s studio, we expect THAT to be what is on the record.

We want to make sure you know how seriously we take resolving such a complicated situation because when Blue Valentine, Foreign Affairs and Heartattack & Vine receive the same treatment, you should know that you can buy in confidence knowing that we all stand by the product, its quality, and its fidelity. And regardless of what happens, please know our team here will resolve this issue for you as fast as we can.

On behalf of the Waits, our customer service staff, and everyone involved, thank you for your support and patience.