Goo Goo Dolls Debuts Another Single From Forthcoming Holiday Album

Courtesy: Warner Records

Goo Goo Dolls debuted the second single from its forthcoming debut holiday album It’s Christmas All Over this week.

The band debuted its take on the timeless holiday song ‘Let It Snow‘ Thursday through USA Today. The song’s debut comes less than a month after the band debuted the album’s lead single, the original song, ‘This is Christmas.’ It’s Christmas All Over is scheduled for release Oct. 30 through Warner Records.

Goo Goo Dolls’ take on the song, originally composed by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in 1945, stays true to its source material. At the same time, it gives the song a new touch through the subtle use of the guitar, drums, vocals, piano and bass. The group’s rendition here gives the song sort of a lounge style sound, with front man John Rzeznik’s own vocal delivery sound and style lending itself to comparisons to that of Rod Stewart.

The compilation’s track listing is noted below.

IT’S CHRISTMAS ALL OVER TRACK-LISTING

1. Christmas All Over Again
2. Shake Hands With Santa Claus
3. This Is Christmas
4. Christmas Don’t Be Late
5. Better Days
6. You Ain’t Getting Nothin’
7. Let It Snow
8. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
10. The Christmas Party (Feat. The Union Square 5)

Pre-orders are open now.

In related news, Goo Goo Dolls has partnered with FanTracks to hold a livestream concert at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 24. Audiences can purchase tickets, VIP bundles, and merchandise here.

In other Goo Goo Dolls concert news, the band is scheduled to launch a new string of live North American dates July 22, 2021 in Nampa, ID support of Miracle Pill‘s re-issue.  The tour is scheduled to run through Aug. 18 in Boston, MA and to feature performances in cities, such as Holmdel, NJ; Morrison, CO and Huber Heights, OH.  The full tour schedule, which takes the band throughout the Midwest, is available at the band’s official website.

More information on Goo Goo Dolls’ new single, album, tour and more is available online now at:

Website: http://www.googoodolls.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/googoodolls

Twitter: http://twitter.com/googoodolls

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Satriani Releases New Career-Spanning Box Set

Courtesy: Epic Records

Joe Satriani released today a brand new box set.

Joe Satriani: The Complete Studio Recordings is a 15-disc box set containing each of Satriani’s records to date. It can be ordered online via Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZ2M5KE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00HZ2M5KE&linkCode=as2&tag=legacy_recordings-20. It is also available as a collectible limited edition USB drive that can be purchased via Satriani’s official website, http://www.satriani.com. The USB drive is available in a 24-bit/96kHz “High Resolution Audio.” The HRA USB drive audio is as close as fans will ever come to the early ½” analog masters and later high sample rate digital masters. That’s because the HRA has higher bandwidth, wider dynamic range, greater detail, and more depth than a conventional CD.

Satriani will be on The Arsenio Hall Show tonight as part of his promotional tour. He will sit in with Hall’s house band. And tomorrow, April 23^rd, he will be the featured guest on Rockline with host Bob Coburn, promoting both his new box set and his new book, Strange Beautiful Music. Audiences can find when and on which station they can catch Satch’s interview at http://www.rocklineradio.com/affiliates.php. Fans can also check out his appearance on the season finale of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show. Fans can check out that episode online now at http://www.vh1.com/video/that-metal-show/full-episodes/joe-satriani/1725085/playlist.jhtml.

Along with his on-air presence, Joe is featured in the “Life” section of today’s edition of USA Today. Fans can check out the article online at http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/04/21/joe-satriani-box-set-autobiography/7476617/. He is also featured on the cover of Guitar World magazine alongside fellow guitar god and Black Label Society front man Zakk Wylde. Fans can check that out at http://www.guitarworld.com/may-2014-guitar-world-zakk-wylde-joe-satriani-how-build-pedal-board-john-frusciante-death-angel-tabs-lessons-and-more.

The complete album listing for Satch’s new box set is noted below:

Joe Satriani: The Complete Studio Recordings includes:

1986  Not of This Earth

1987  Surfing with the Alien

1989  Flying in a Blue Dream

1992  The Extremist

1993  Time Machine

1995  Joe Satriani

1998  Crystal Planet

2000  Engines of Creation

2002  Strange Beautiful Music

2004  Is There Love in Space?

2006  Super Colossal

2008  Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock

2010  Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards

2013  Unstoppable Momentum

2014 Additional Creations and Bonus Tracks

More information on Satriani’s new box set, book, tour news and more is available online at http://www.satriani.com and http://www.facebook.com/joesatriani. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Cyrus, Warwick To Perform New Single Today On CBS’ The Talk

Country musician Billy Ray Cyrus will appear today on CBS’ The Talk.

Cyrus will perform his new single, ‘Hope Is Just Ahead’ on the networks’ afternoon talk show.  Audiences can catch The Talk live on their local CBS station.  Viewers can check their local listings for broadcast times online at http://www.cbs.com/shows/the_talk.  He is expected to be joined by fellow veteran singer Dionne Warwick, with whom he also recorded the song.  The song has jumped to #60 and is most added on the A/C Chart in just its second week at radio.  The video for the new single can be viewed online now at http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/01/30/billy-ray-cyrus-dionne-warwick-premiere-new-duet/5044913/?AID=10709313&PID=6154686&SID=2f4szw8nt2dh and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyQfyMIH5Uk.

Cyrus explained in a recent interview how the meaning behind his new single has changed since it was originally written.  He explained that  was inspired by a school shooting, and that it has now done what it was meant to do.  “I initially started writing ‘Hope Is Just Ahead’ the day after the Columbine shootings with Don Von Tress,” he noted.  “I feel like ‘Hope Is Just Ahead’ has now found its purpose.  Cyrus will donate a portion of sales of the single to the “Do The Write Thing-National Campaign to Stop Violence.”  The group was developed to create awareness and stop violence among young people in schools before it has a chance to develop.

Cyrus discussed the “Do The Write Thing-National Campaign To Stop Violence” in his comments.  ‘Do The Write Thing’ is one of the few ideas I have seen in front of us as a society in America that can actually make an immediate and positive impact, a real difference in stopping violence in schools before it happens,” he said.  “If this concept can save one life, if the thought of early detection means one less Sandy Hook, VA Tech or movie theater massacre, then it needs our support.”  He went on to add that “Edmund Burke said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,’ so let’s no longer just stand back and say ‘I saw this coming, but did nothing.’ We have to try something, standing here debating and procrastinating, just ain’t working.”  More information on “Do The Write Thing-National Campaign To Stop Violence” is available online at http://www.dtwt.org/about-dtwt.

More information on Billy Ray Cyrus is available online at http://www.billyraycyrus.com and http://www.facebook.com/BillyRayCyrus.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Carlene Carter Announces Release Date For New Album

Courtesy: Rounder Records

Carlene Carter, the daughter of the late June Carter Cash and country music legend Carl Smith, will release her latest album this Spring.  Carter will release Carter Girl on Tuesday, April 8^th via Rounder Records.  The album is Carter’s first collection of new material in a decade.  The album was produced by Don Was and mixed by Bob Clearmountain.  Along with producing the record, Was also handles bass duties on some of the songs included on the album, too.

Carter explained in a recent interview that she has anticipated making this record for many years.  She explains that she has wanted to make this record for so long because in her own words, “The songs on the album cover three generations of Carter Family music.”  She even shares writing credit with A.P. Carter on the update of the classic Carter song, ‘Lonesome Valley’ in ‘Lonesome Valley 2003.’  The update is a musical expression of her reaction to the loss of her mother, sister and legendary stepfather, Johnny Cash eleven years ago.  It isn’t the only Carter classic that is re-visited on her new record.  She also included a handful of songs from the Carter Family songbook next to her own original works.

The songs that were culled for this album are just part of that which audiences have to look forward.  Major names such as Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, the late “Cowboy” Jack Clement, and Elizabeth Cook  each make appearances throughout the album’s dozen total tracks.  Lorrie Carter Bennett, daughter of Anita Carta also adds her talents, as does Carlene Carter’s own husband, Joe Breen.  They were joined by session musicians Jim Keltner, Rami Jaffee, Greg Leisz, Sam Bush, Mickey Rafael, and Blake Mills.

‘Little Black Train’, the lead single off of Carter Girl is streaming now online at USA Today’s official website.  Audiences can hear it now at http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/02/10/song-premiere-carlene-carter-little-black-train/5325175/http://.  The complete track listing for Carter Girl is listed below.

Carter Girl track listing

1. Little Black Train

(A.P. Carter)

2. Give Me The Roses

(A.P. Carter)

3. Me and The Wildwood Rose

(Carlene Carter)

4. Blackie’s Gunman (duet with Elizabeth Cook)

(A.P. Carter)

5. I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight

(A.P. Carter)

6. Poor Old Heartsick Me

(Helen Carter)

7. Troublesome Waters (duet with Willie Nelson)

(Maybelle Carter/Ezra Carter/Dixie Dean Hall)

8. Lonesome Valley 2003 (with special guest Vince Gill)

(Carlene Carter/A.P. Carter/Al Anderson)

9. Tall Lover Man

(June Carter Cash)

10. Gold Watch and Chain

(A.P. Carter)

11. Blackjack David (duet with Kris Kristofferson)

(A.P. Carter)

12. I Ain’ Gonna Work Tomorrow (featuring Helen Carter, Anita Carter, June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash)

(A.P. Carter)

More information on Carlene Carter, her new album, tour and more is available online at http://www.facebook.com/officialcarlenecarter.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Lucky Diaz & The Family Jam Band’s New Record Is Musical Fun For The Whole Family

Courtesy: BenMar Music/Rainy Day Dimes

Los Angeles, CA’s own Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band have made quite the name for itself since the release of its debut record, Oh Lucky Day! (2011). Since the release of that album, the band has received numerous accolades from the likes of USA Today, People Magazine, and the NAPPA Awards just to name a few.  The band has lived up to those accolades since that record’s release.  Now Lucky and company are set to release another record that is certain to make for even more accolades, even for those that don’t speak Spanish.

Fantastico! is an enjoyable record both for kids and adults, and even for those that don’t speak Spanish.  It is the first all-Spanish record from Diaz and company.  For those that have yet to experience the music of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, this record is anything but what one might expect from a Hispanic language record.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  Right from the disc’s first track, ‘La Vibora’ audiences are introduced to a record that will impress not just kids, but parents, too with its up-tempo, poppy vibes.  Whether listeners speak Spanish or not, every audience will enjoy the infectious mix of pop, blues, Dixieland, zydeco, and Hispanic sounds that make up this record.  It’s simply that after having listened to the opening–and the disc’s remaining seven tracks–listeners will find the entire work so enjoyable that they will end up looking up the lyrics so that they can translate them and sing along.

The urge to want to look up the album’s lyrics is actually a double whammy for Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band on this first Spanish language album from the group.  On the surface, it will definitely lead non-Spanish speaking audiences to try to translate the lyrics.  Those audiences with young children can use it as a solid starting point in learning a foreign language.  Given, younger audiences won’t pick but so much.  But perhaps that interest generated in a foreign language through this record could help those same young audiences to become interested in learning to speak foreign languages.  So in essence, this record is impressive both for its infectious grooves and for its ability to serve as an educational tool for listeners of all ages.

The group recently finished off a successful performance at the annual Kindie Fest.  And it has many more dates to come.  Fans of this standout act can get a full list of tour dates on its official website, http://luckydiazmusic.com/  Fans can also go here to get all the latest news from the band, as well as the official Lucky Diaz Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lucky-Diaz-and-the-Family-Jam-Band/182600891967.  The Fantastico! will be available in stores and online Friday, May 3^rd.    It can be downloaded on iTunes via the group’s official website and Facebook page at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lucky-diaz-family-jam-band/id405894235.    And before the album drops this Friday, parents and kids will have the chance to win an mp3 of the album’s lead single, ‘La Vibora’ when they “Like” the Phil’s Picks Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/philspicks.  Three lucky winners will be named this Friday for an mp3 of the song to enjoy this Sunday on Cinco de Mayo.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.