Rock band the Jesus Lizard reuniting after decade

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Seminal Chicago indie rock outfit the Jesus Lizard will play its first shows in 10 years in 2009.

The original lineup of David Yow, Duane Denison, David Wm. Sims and Mac McNeilly will return to the stage May 9-10 at All Tomorrow's Parties' the Fans Strike Back in Minehead, England, which will also feature Devo, Spiritualized, the reunited Sleep and Young Marble Giants. The group will play "very limited" as-yet-unannounced dates in the months to follow, concluding with a November show in Chicago.

Meanwhile, indie label Touch & Go will remaster and reissue the band's first four studio albums. Noise-rock band Shellac's Bob Weston and Steve Albini are supervising the remastering of the albums "Head," "Goat," "Liar" and "Down," which will be available on vinyl and CD. Release dates have not yet been confirmed.

A contemporary of like-minded acts such as Fugazi, Helmet, the Melvins and Nirvana, the Jesus Lizard is revered for its visceral noise-rock attack, driven by Yow's unhinged persona.

After splitting with Touch & Go in 1995, the band jumped to a major label, Capitol, and released two more albums that sold appreciably less than its earlier efforts. Its last show was in late March 1999.

Reuters/Billboard

Costello's `Spectacle' a different look at music

NEW YORK – During an interview with Elton John for the debut of his new Sundance Channel show "Spectacle," Elvis Costello didn't ask about stage costumes, boyfriends or "Island Girl." Instead, the conversation turned to Laura Nyro, Leon Russell and David Ackles.

The two men closed the show, which airs Wednesday at 9 p.m., performing the obscure singer-songwriter Ackles' "Down River."

"For all of (Elton John's) successes, people don't realize that he's a great fan of music," Costello told The Associated Press. "They assume that he's this flamboyant guy who has hit records. They don't know that it's grounded in a great love and tremendous knowledge about music."

Costello could as easily have been talking about himself. That background, his experience on the other side of interviews and a natural rapport with people in similar jobs more than make up for any deficits as a trained TV prober. They give "Spectacle," a mix of music and talk, heft along with entertainment value.

Besides John, who is an executive producer of the 13-episode series, future guests include Lou Reed, James Taylor, The Police, Rufus Wainwright, Norah Jones, Herbie Hancock, Renee Fleming and Costello's wife Diana Krall (interviewed by John).

As the first episode's interview revealed, Costello's goal was to get his guests talking about their enthusiasms, hoping they'd reveal more of themselves in the process.

During his session with a clearly nervous Taylor, Costello mentioned hearing a Gene Autry record recently that reminded him of Paul McCartney, and Taylor began talking about his days at Apple Records.

Reed picked up a guitar to show the proper way of playing "Sweet Jane."

"It was funny because he wouldn't seem to be a guy who would do an instruction thing," Costello said. "He was in good humor throughout the show, contrary to a lot of people's expectations about him. Maybe they approach him through a lens of darkness, solely concentrating on the image that is projected through a very limited slice of his repertoire."

The Police's show had an end-of-tour frankness and frivolity. It also illustrated another highlight of "Spectacle" — the music — when they and Costello played a version of "Watching the Detectives" that morphed into "Walking on the Moon."

An amateur saxophone player who served two terms in the White House is on Dec. 17th's show. Former President Bill Clinton talked about music, not politics, saying how he gave up the dream of being a professional musician when he looked in the mirror and realized he'd never be good enough to be the best.

Costello's closest experience to "Spectacle" was a few nights subbing for David Letterman. He's not sure whether there will be a second season, noting the difficulty juggling his family and guests' schedules, without neglecting his day job.

The freedom to be flexible with format, and to talk in-depth with heroes like Smokey Robinson, made it a good experience.

"For every frustration, for every idiotic suggestion that you get when you work in television, the great moments far outweigh the minor frustrations," he said.

On the Net: http://www.sundancechannel.com

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Izibor channels American soul by way of Ireland

By Jason Lipshutz
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Irish singer-songwriter Laura Izibor didn't know she could sing until she was 13, but once she did, she knew she was on to something.

"I was in drama class at school and the teacher asked everyone to get up to sing. I was pleading, 'Please don't ask me,'" Izibor says. "But I got up and sang. My heart was in my throat, and the class and the teacher said I had something. So I had to pursue it."

Seven years later, 21-year-old Izibor's dazzling vocal range and soul music have pegged her as an artist to watch. Izibor will perform at select shows in the States, including a show at New York's Cutting Room on December 3.

With its slick piano hook, playful lyrics and throwback feel, her first single, "From My Heart to Yours," serves as the perfect precursor to "Let the Truth Be Told," Izibor's debut full-length on Atlantic Records, slated for an early 2009 release.

As a teenager in Dublin, Izibor began honing her craft with voice lessons, piano lessons and performances at summer art school. At 15, she won Ireland's 2FM Song Contest, a radio competition that landed her in national newspapers and generated label interest. She signed to Jive Records on her 17th birthday and began recording parts of "Truth" in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dublin. After amicably splitting with Jive two years ago, Izibor signed to Atlantic and finished the album, all while performing sold-out shows in Ireland and opening for R&B stars like Al Green and Angie Stone.

"Let the Truth Be Told," which Izibor wrote and co-produced, blends old-school R&B traditions with modern production. She credits an early gravitation toward classic soul artists like Otis Redding and Roberta Flack for the album's timeless feel.

"I just think when you're a kid, a black kid living on Ireland, the music you love and the artists you love don't come from one place," Izibor says.

As her songwriting continues to draw comparisons to contemporaries like Jill Scott and Lauryn Hill, Izibor still feels connected to the rich past of soul music, and is proud that "Let the Truth Be Told" wears its inspirations on its sleeve. "Every one of my heroes is on there," she says.

Reuters/Billboard

Kanye West's Elvis Presley Complex

Los Angeles (E! Online) – As you may have heard, Kanye West announced at the American Music Awards that he wants to be the next Elvis Presley. Then West had to take it even further.

"When I said the statement, 'I want to be Elvis,' I really should have thought that out more because that statement was actually really incorrect," West told E! News' Ryan Seacrest Tuesday. "Actually, the true statement was 'I want to be better than Elvis.' "

So does West have what it takes to get anywhere near Elvis' stratosphere? We talked to some industry insiders to find out...

"Kanye is one of the biggest hip-hop stars in the world right now," says Emil Wilbekin, editor-in-chief of urban lifestyle magazine Giant. "But I do believe he has delusions of grandeur."

Wilbekin goes on to say, "I think Kanye is hugely self-absorbed, and I think that he thinks he could be bigger than Elvis. Kanye is very much concerned with how big he could be, how much music he can make and how many awards he could win."

It's that oversize ego that's propelled him to the top of his game, says Hillary Crosley, R&B/hip-hop correspondent for Billboard. "People find it so amusing that he takes it so seriously," Crosley says. "If he didn't have the ego, he wouldn't make it as far as he has."

Cory Cooper, a noted Elvis historian, says he's impressed with West's goals, but he needs a reality check.

"Even though Mr. West has a fantastic idea of what he aspires to become, he nor any other performer, past, present or future will ever accomplish Presley's unparalleled career," Cooper writes in an email. "Elvis stands alone. With all due respect to Mr. West, Elvis Presley is not called 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll' for nothing."

No one argues that West is a not a great musician, but Presley was more than just hit records. He not only crossed over into many genres (pop, rock, gospel, country), but he was also a true movie star. "He definitely needs to get himself outside of the hip-hop world in order to be spoken of in the same terms of Elvis," says Chuck Arnold, music critic for People. "I think that's what he's starting to do with singing—well, what you would call singing with the help of technology."

Wilbekin agrees. "Elvis had gospel and country music behind him and Hollywood behind him," he says. "Kanye just has hip-hop right now.

"He hasn't really done acting, aside from Saturday Night Live."

West did have a Hollywood project in the works. He was developing a Curb Your Enthusiasm-like series for HBO. However, it's reportedly been shelved. "I think it was too hard-core for HBO," writer and producer Larry Charles told ComingSoon.net early last month.

Billboard's Crosley says with a laugh, "Maybe he's secretly taking acting lessons."

We could hear Kanye now: "I want to be the next Marlon Brando."

Or as Los Angeles Times pop critic Ann Powers says, West should just be, well, West: "Kanye is excellent at being himself," she says, "and he is unique, so maybe he should be happy with that."

—Additional reporting by Dahvi Shira

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Madonna tour grosses $91.5 million

NASHVILLE (Billboard) – The 28 dates on Madonna's just-concluded North American jaunt grossed about $91.5 million and moved about 550,000 tickets, according to tour producer Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music for Live Nation.

The venerable performer wrapped the North American leg of her Sticky & Sweet tour Wednesday in front of 50,000 people at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. She then headed to Mexico City for shows Saturday and Sunday.

Counting her European run, Madonna is at about $207.5 million in ticket sales and on a pace to hit about $282 million when the Mexico/South America leg of the tour wraps. That would make Sticky & Sweet the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist or solo artist.

The tour, supporting her album "Hard Candy," concludes with three nights December 18-21 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Reuters/Billboard

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Amy Winehouse's husband admits 'dragging' her into drugs

Blake Fielder-Civil said he was too weak to stop her

Amy Winehouse's jailed husband has reportedly admitted that he introduced the singer to hard drugs.

Blake Fielder-Civil, who was released from prison earlier this month after serving a 27-month prison sentence for assault, said he "dragged Amy into it (drugs)" and "without me there is no doubt that she would never have gone down that road".

"I made the biggest mistake of my life by taking heroin in front of her,” he added.

"I introduced her to heroin, crack cocaine and self-harming. I feel more than guilty."

Fielder-Civil also said he was too weak to stop the Grammy award winning singer from trying hard drugs.

He told the News Of The World: "The first time Amy took crack she asked me, 'Can I try a bit of that?'.

"Crack is the nastiest drug. It makes you paranoid, unreasonable, edgy and totally suspicious of everyone.

"And you can get hooked on it straight away. But I was weak and an addict and I let Amy take some."

Fielder-Civil also said he was terrified when she suffered a seizure just months into their marriage last year.

"I was there when Amy suffered her first seizure. I still break down thinking about it. We had been taking drugs all day long — heroin and crack," he added.

"Then my wife, who I love with all my heart and soul, just started shaking violently in front of me. I started crying and I lay her down in the recovery position. I cleared her airways to make sure she wasn’t choking.

"But her jaw was closed tight. I tried to stop her from biting her tongue when she was on the floor.

"It was heartbreaking, seeing someone you love more than yourself, someone you would die for, someone you would kill for on the floor shaking."

He is currently undergoing a course of rehab at a clinic in Surrey under the terms of his early release.

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A-Rod in Mexico City on same weekend as Madonna

MEXICO CITY – New York Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez appeared in Mexico City on the same weekend as Madonna — a turn of events he called "very good."

The 33-year-old baseball star spent two hours Sunday teaching kids to bat at a new sports center built on a landfill in the poor suburb of Nezahualcoyotl.

Pop star Madonna meanwhile prepared to perform for a sold-out second night in the capital as part of her "Sticky & Sweet" tour.

When asked what he thought about being in the sprawling capital at the same time as Madonna, Rodriguez said it was "very good," without elaborating.

Rodriguez and his wife divorced in September, months after he made tabloid headlines for a rumored, but denied, dalliance with Madonna.

Less than four weeks later, Madonna and filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie announced their own split after nearly eight years of marriage.

Rodriguez, known by fans as "A-Rod," was invited to inaugurate the sports center by Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, whose Telmex Foundation sponsored its construction. The site includes two baseball diamonds and 25 soccer fields.

"It's a pleasure to talk about baseball, to talk about the importance of keeping children off the streets, out of drugs and out of all the bad things that there are in this life," the New York City-born Rodriguez said in Spanish.

It wasn't immediately known if Rodriguez and Madonna met while in Mexico City.