Dave looks to the other side

December 31st, 2007

By Helen Herimbi

Hollywood film releases are not something you'd associate with Dave Matthews. The 40-year-old South African native is rather better known for his musical exploits - enjoying the not-to-be-sniffed-at status of being the lead singer of America's biggest touring act.

Yes, that's right. More people attend his Grammy Award-winning band's concerts every year than say, a slick Justin Timberlake, rap mogul Jay Z, or even, heaven forbid, the newly reformed Spice Girls.

Together with Jonathan Dorfman and a few friends, his latest exploit is as a movie producer for the psychological thriller Joshua. Matthews was in Joburg last week to promote the film.

Joshua, which according to Matthews "was the first film where all the pieces just fell together", follows the life of a precocious 9-year-old whose world is shattered when a new child enters the household. His jealousy takes sibling rivalry to a new level as a series of fatal events raise unanswered questions and leave a dark cloud over the family. On top of being one of the producers, Matthews contributed a poignant ditty to the film.

In high spirits, Matthews - who was born and attended St Stithians High School in Johannesburg - explains that in the original script there was meant to be a song in the final scene where the boy would reveal that he is he puppet master of the whole thing.

"The scriptwriters hadn't written the song. So they asked if I knew anyone who would do it . So I said 'well, give me a chance'.

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Cadets win 'Pep Rally' prize - Dave Matthews Band

October 25th, 2007

By Alexa James

Times Herald-Record

West Point — "Go Army! Beat Navy!" It's the unofficial mantra of the U.S. Military Academy, and it extends to all things on post.

When cadets walk by officers, they salute and murmur, "Go Army," and officers bark back, "Beat Navy."

There are four flower boxes on the superintendent's front porch. "Go Army," says one pair. The other pair? You guessed it.

At the nation's bastion for Army excellence, young men and women are trained to win wars and football games.

So when West Point Cadet Jeff Caslen heard about a contest for the "World's Loudest Pep Rally," he knew what to do:

"Stick it to the other academies!" he said.

The competition, sponsored by AT&T, challenged 120 NCAA schools, including West Point and the Naval and Air Force academies, to vote online to win a free, live concerts by the Dave Matthews Band.

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Live Earth Heading To CD/DVD In November

October 16th, 2007

Aimee Rawlins, N.Y.

July's worldwide Live Earth concerts will be encapsulated as a 1-CD/2-DVD package due Nov. 20 via Warner Bros.

"Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis" includes performances by Madonna, Foo Fighters, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Beastie Boys and Rihanna, among many others. The first single from the release will be Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out," which was performed at Maduhari Messe in Japan.

The digital version of the album will be available Nov. 6, and John Mayer's version of "Waiting on the World To Change" will serve as an exclusive track for those who pre-order from iTunes.

The event, organized by Al Gore and Kevin Wall, brought together more than 150 artists in New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Rio de Janiro, Johannesburg, and Hamburg to raise awareness for the climate crisis. An estimated 2 billion people tuned in to the live broadcast.

Proceeds from the CD/DVD will benefit the Alliance for Climate Protection, which works to persuade the public of the urgency of developing solutions for the climate crisis.

Track Lists for CD and DVD:

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Stand Up Producer Mark Baston: Interview

October 3rd, 2007

Mindy Longanecker

Music producer Mark Batson has come a long way from the Brooklyn projects where he was raised. Over the past several years, he has worked both as a producer and contributing musician (he plays just about every instrument known to man) with an eclectic group of artists ranging from G-Unit to India.Arie to Beyoncé to Anthony Hamilton to Seal to The Game to Gwen Stefani to Eminem to Rachel Yamagata to Talib Kweli.

Batson gained national stature with India.Arie's 2001 release Acoustic Soul, on which Batson co-wrote and co-produced several songs. The album garnered seven Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year.

His latest project is Dave Matthews Band's Stand Up, out May 10. Tableau recently chatted with Batson about his personal and professional background and his production experience, as well as his work with DMB.

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Matthews battles to get it right on the stage and in life

September 28th, 2007

By George Varga

UNION-TRIBUNE POP MUSIC CRITIC

 
There are two good reasons why Dave Matthews, one of the most consistently uncompromising artists in or out of rock, rarely submits to interviews. He doesn't need to and doesn't like to, so why bother?

“Generally, it's along the lines of 'What's your favorite color?' or 'What brings you to Boston?' ” he said from a tour stop last week in North Carolina with his group, the Dave Matthews Band (or DMB for short).

“Because of what it is, 'rock journalism,' like much of the other mainstream media, is an attempt to sell an oversimplified, nicely packaged vision of the world that will be palatable and easy to travel, when the truth is far more confusing. I can assure anyone that gets their news from the mainstream media that there's a far more inspirational, complex and breathtaking world out there than the one portrayed to us in general by the purveyors of information.”

The inspiration and confusion of everyday life make Matthews thrive, on and off stage. His success as the leader of one of the few bands anywhere that can consistently fill stadiums and large outdoor venues like Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, where they perform tonight, has made it even less necessary for him to speak to the press.

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Dave Matthews Band delivers too much, too much

September 27th, 2007

By PETER LARSEN

The Orange County Register

 

A lot of the Dave Matthews Band goes a long way – three hours long if you were at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater for an almost-sold out show on Wednesday night.

And from the ecstatic reactions of the fans, that's a good thing. Maybe not even enough of a good thing, judging by the two young women standing nearby who shouted in vain all night for Dave to play "Two Step."

So the tricky thing to figure becomes this: If 15,000 fans are having such a great time, why didn't this show move me as much as it seemed to be moving so many others?

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Dave Matthews Band delivers crowd-pleasing show

September 25th, 2007

John Schreiber

 
If you weren't in Fort Worth Saturday night watching a certain football game, chances are you were at the Dave Matthews Band concert at the Smirnoff Music Centre in Fair Park.

In front of a sold-out crowd of over 20,000, Matthews and his band played a crowd-pleasing, three-hour set filled with a mix of old favorites, a few new, unreleased songs and a whole lot of energetic jams.

With a crowd ranging from teenagers to mothers of teenagers, the Dave Matthews Band had the unique challenge of appeasing its wide scope of fans. The band, which has been touring almost every year since its formation in the early '90s, undertakes this task masterfully.

The band started things off slowly with the new tune "A Dream So Real," a darker song characteristic of the band's older albums. Although a decent song, it failed to start off the concert with enough energy. However, the tempo picked up a bit as the band jammed out to a 20-minute version of "Seek Up," complete with lively solos from violinist Boyd Tinsley and trumpet player Rashawn Ross (of Robert Randolph & the Family Band).

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Starbucks to distribute iTunes "Song of the day" cards

September 24th, 2007

Dave Caolo

When the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at Starbucks launches in New York and Seattle on Tuesday, October 2nd, the coffee giant will be armed with promotions.

First of all, they'll distribute 1.5 million "Song of the day" cards across 10,000 locations. Each card will provide a free single from artists like Bob Dylan (Of course - Steve loves Dylan. In fact, Dylan's "Joker Man" will be the first giveaway), Paul McCartney and Dave Matthews via iTunes (US). They'll be valid until the end of 2007.

Also, select Starbucks locations will sell "iTunes Digital Release Cards," which allow customers to download music and bonus materials (like music videos and digital booklets) from artists like KT Tunstall and Eddie Vedder. These must be activated at Starbucks before use in the iTunes Store (US).

Finally, they'll also be selling the "Starbucks Card Plus Two"; a re-chargable coffee card that includes two free downloads from iTunes (US).

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Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Duo possesses undeniable chemistry in live album

September 20th, 2007

by Mark Manley,

Intricate, eclectic and smooth, the latest Dave Matthews album, "Live at Radio City Music Hall," could be one of the best albums you buy this year.

Matthews pairs up again with Tim Reynolds in his latest solo release for a very distinctive listen. Reynolds accounts for much of this undeniably different touch through his virtuoso guitar accompaniment and rambling forays into ambient sounds.

He sometimes strays from the bounds of the typical tonal music that most people are accustomed to and enters into a strange experimental zone - leaving the listener a little perplexed and uncomfortable. Thankfully these moments don't last long, but they leave a lasting impression.

The great chemistry between Matthews and Reynolds is impressive. Matthews gives a great vocal performance, nailing both falsettos and screams in well-known songs like "Crash Into Me" and "Don't Drink the Water." Meanwhile, Reynolds keeps up a subtle, ornate background - an accompaniment that pleases but does not distract.

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Glide Magazine - Live At Radio City CD Review

September 19th, 2007

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds 
Live at Radio City
By Shane Handler

Recorded April 22, 2007 at New York City’s famous Radio City Music Hall, this two disc set (also available on DVD) captures Dave Matthews and habitual collaborator Tim Reynolds in their big venue glory, apart from their famed Luther College show from 1996, previously released on CD. The twenty-five songs captured on Live at Radio City cover most of Matthew’s career – and from the very first track, “Bartender,” it’s perfectly clear why this Dave and Tim thing is so successful. Reynolds’ oddball turnings give Matthew’s compositions an unpredictable energy alongside his emotive vocals.

The pensive “Stay or Leave” blossoms with Reynolds’ delicate leads, alongside new numbers like “Old Dirt” and longtime staples “Dancing Nancies” and “#41.”  The jabberwocky vocals of “Save Me” and the redneck pokes on “Cornbread” lighten the mood, but the banter of military benefits to our vets comes miss-directed.

Another DMB song you love to hate, “Crazy,” sounds pretty damn good with Reynolds’ fiery guitar work intertwined. Matthews puts a unique spin on Neil Young’s “Down by the River,” with his spastic vocals and of course not to be ignored is Reynold’s novel guitar work.  He shines on the aforementioned song and on his solo numbers – “Betrayal” and “You are my Sanity.” There are a few throwaways (“Sister” and “Out of My Hands”) but where “Lie In Our Graves” begins formulaic, the song bursts into a crazy mid-tune improv, to an appreciative and roaring crowd.

 Say what you want about the Dave Matthews Band, and their rah rah “Ants Marching,” frat rock clap-a-longs. Stripped to the bone, you’ve got one of the best singer-songwriters around.  Live at Radio City is further proof.