Secrets of the City

“Alex Chilton, the pop hitmaker, cult icon and Memphis rock iconoclast best known as a member of 1960s pop-soul act the Box Tops and the 1970s power-pop act Big Star, died Wednesday at a hospital in New Orleans,” says the Commercial Appeal report. “The singer, songwriter and guitarist was 59.”

And for those of you who think this isn’t a local story, let me just remind you that The Replacements have a song called “Alex Chilton.” Maybe that, in and of itself, isn’t good enough, but there’s a reason they wrote it. Perhaps this tweet from @kenshane puts it best: Out of the thousands of musicians at #SXSW, there’s probably not one that doesn’t owe a debt of gratitude to #AlexChilton

Acccording to EW.com, reunited ’70s power-pop pioneers Big Star was one of the biggest names at this year’s SXSW music festival in Austin, Tex., with a gig scheduled for late this Saturday night. Their rep says the status of the band’s Saturday night performance is “still up in the air” — but his bandmates are considering going ahead with the panel, recast as a tribute to their late friend.

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According to the PiPress, the Iron Range Tourism Bureau has launched a campaign to bring everyone’s favorite Zimmerman back “home” to Da Range to perform in concert. The site, comebackbob.com, includes a video appeal by MinnesotaBrown.com’s Aaron Brown. No word yet if Bob has yet received his invitation or, if he does choose to perform, which iron ore pit could be used to hold the teeming masses sure to a-gather to hear the Bard of Rock bring it back to his hometown. Say what you will about him as a person, a writer or a performer, but popular music would be a very different animal without the influence that was/is Bob Dylan.

Local musician/songwriter Tyler Blanski is trying to fight homelessness with a little bit of music — fabulous music. Check out this video about his project and how it all got started.

“I don’t know a lot of ways to get involved to help the homeless,” says Blanski, “but I do know that I love to sing songs, and I would love to make a great album with other great musicians that can hopefully have a positive impact here in the community and help those in need in a very practical way.”

That’s exactly what he’s doing, making an album with a stellar lineup of (mostly) local artists. Featured artists include: Chris Koza, Charlie Parr, Ben Kyle from Romantica, Dave Simonett & Ryan Young from Trampled by Turtles, Roma Di Luna, Pieta Brown, Psalm One, Chris Morrissey, The Farewell Circuit, Jacqueline Ultan, Danny Warnock, Mark Stockert, Chastity Brown, Ashleigh Still, Josh Dekker, Cloud Cult, The Pines, Meredith Rachel, and George Hadfield.

Beautiful! Let’s have more of this.

Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez and a globally diverse band of leading-edge jazz musicians pay tribute to Dizzy Gillespie – not only by performing some Dizzy classics, but with original compositions embracing the Gillespie tradition of collaboration and mixture of genres and styles. The group includes David Sanchez (tenor sax – Puerto Rico), Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax – India, US), Jamey Haddad (percussion – Lebanon, US), Amir ElSaffar  (trumpet – Iraq, US), Ben Street (bass – US), Adam Cruz (drums – Puerto Rico, US). We’ll simply agree with the New York Times: “When the dust settles, the pianist Danilo Perez will be looking like one of the best things that happened to jazz around the turn of the millennium…”  Be there or be square.  Secrets of the City offers one lucky winner a pair of tickets. To enter for a chance to win, email Contests@Secretsofthecity.com with the subject line PEREZ PLAYS DIZZY.

Danilo Perez: 21st Century Dizzy; Saturday, April 10, 8 p.m. Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 S. 4th St., Mpls; Tickets $40

Sample Night Live previews a dozen local performing arts shows – from theater productions to stand-up comedy, from music to magicians, and from video to dance or improv.  It’s absolutely made for us who regularly steer toward the combo platter.  Mark your calendar for the first Wednesday of every month – and let the warning sirens be your reminder.  Secrets of the City offers a pair of tickets to Sample Night Live every week!  To register to win tix for the next show, just send an email to Contests@Secretsofthecity.com with the subject line SAMPLE APRIL.  Everyone in attendance can vote for their favorites, talk up the latest greatest, and get busy filling calendars with performing arts events.

Sample Night Live, Wednesday, April 7, ACT I, G-Rated, 7 p.m.; ACT II, R-Rated, 8:30 p.m.; History Theatre, 30 E. 10th Street, St. Paul

Perfect Porridge interviewed Jora Deziel, “public & media relations coordinator for the acoustical marvel known as Xcel Energy Center and the horrendous echo cave known as Roy Wilkins Auditorium,” as part of its SXSW: State of Music Blogs in 2010 series; and here’s the best part:

How have they changed your music consumption and/or marketing efforts?
I listen to online music all day from Pandora. That is where I find new artists to listen to and be inspired by. As for the marketing efforts, we are fully immersed in the social media world. Breaking news now comes from social media. If you want to be on the cutting-edge and stay “newsworthy,” you have to be actively participating – not just a bystander. We use Facebook ads, Twitter contests/campaigns to get folks interested in our facility and bands that are coming to it.

What’s the best thing to happen to the music industry in the last year or so?
Twitter, you feel like you know the artist intimately

What’s the worst?
Twitter, there is no mystery anymore

How has your musical consumption changed? And what’s Twitter got to do with it? What musicians do you follow?

Aw, man, first he puts out a Christmas album and now Bobby Zimmerman sold another song to advertising — one of my youth-time favorites, in fact: “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

The legendary singer said The Co-operative can use his 1963 song for the campaign for its food shops, funeral homes and financial services.

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This is the second time Dylan has got involved with the advertising world after he appeared in an advert for lingerie firm Victoria’s Secret in 2004.

Prince is giving The Current a song to debut tomorrow morning at 7am.

Try to erase the Vikings song from your memory banks and tune in for “Cause and Effect” — “which the Current music blog describes as a rocker – filled with virtuosic guitar work, explosive drum breaks, a poppy chorus, trademark shrieks and whoops, some intriguing lyrics (’if I had the chance to do it all again / I wouldn’t change a thing except my next of kin’) and a call to mankind (’you need compassion.’)”

The song will debut at 7 am on Friday on 89.3.

Thanks to LOL OMG! for getting the word out on this new MTV video from local faves Solid Gold.

The new video for the soon-to-be-mega-hit “Matter of Time” is a colorful masterpiece, with an epic lighting concept created by SG cohort Bryant Locher.

Well, clearly, the Grammy’s aren’t a local topic, but when Ringo Starr wears an Electric Fetus shirt, well, that makes it local. Woohoo!

And of course now we can talk about the grammy’s. Any other local connections?

Prince, Dylan, Jonny Lang, Brian Setzer, Ann Nesby…