Early November 2003
- Site uses Web to set up gatherings
(The Globe and Mail / Associated Press, November 7, 2003)
From Elvis fans to supporters of a presidential hopeful, Meetup.com is bringing together people with a common interest, taking the talk out of the chatroom and back into the real world. It was at a crowded 2001 opening of the movie, "Lord of the Rings" that 31-year-old Scott Heiferman found himself surrounded by strangers, yet inspired by a sense of community. That experience and others led him to launch Meetup.com, an Internet venture in which people with shared interests meet on-line to plan offline gatherings in their own communities. "I think people involved in the Internet were obsessed with this idea that the Internet was global," said Mr. Heiferman, Meetup's co-founder and CEO. "They loved the idea that you could now be best friends with a fellow Chihuahua owner in the United Kingdom. ... Well, what about grabbing a beer, grabbing coffee, having a gathering of the Chihuahua owners in town?"
The site was launched in June 2002 with $1.25-million (U.S.) in startup money. The company, with its staff of 16 people, is "turning the corner right now on profitability," Mr. Heiferman said, and succeeding in ways he and his co-founders hadn't imagined. Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean's campaign was the first to tap into Meetup's networking potential in a high-profile way, using it to mobilize supporters around the country after a staffer noted that political candidates were a popular topic on the site. Supporters of congressional and statewide candidates also have plugged into the site's potential. ...
There is a fee to be listed as a Meetup site, one of three revenue sources for the New York-based company. Money also comes in from organizations that benefit from a link to Meetup, and from users who opt to pay for a membership with more features. Meetups on a particular topic occur on the same day in communities all over the world. For instance, the Elvis Meetup Day is the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. local time for each city involved. ...
- Oh, the things that duct tape can make
By CONNIE MABIN
(Corvallis Gazette-Times / Associated Press, November 7, 2003)
CLEVELAND - Todd Scott would use metallic gold to make a jacket fit for the King. Thirteen-year-old Sydney Hunt envisions a maroon handbag, maybe with matching red beads. Lindsey Parker has dreams of a steel blue dress. Colored duct tape - oh, the possibilities. "I really love the new metallic blue. I'm going to try to make a dress out it if I get time," said Parker, a 21-year-old student at Cleveland Institute of Art. "The color is really nice and you just don't see it in duct tape that often." ... With the recent debut of the three new colors, Ohio duct tape maker Henkel Consumer Adhesives Inc. hopes to cash in on the talents of these and other adhesive artists. ... A year after sales skyrocketed in the $100 million industry because the government suggested using the tape as an anti-terrorism staple, manufacturers are seizing on the teen trend to use duct tape to make clothes, bags, wallets, jewelry and art. ... "Everyone thinks there's just gray. The first question people ask me is if I paint the duct tape," Scott said. "I use it because I love the colors because you can really give life to things."
As for the new shades, he's pulling for gold. "I want to make this Elvis jacket with it. It would just be funny and it's just this great color," Scott said. ...
- Righteous Brother Hatfield Dies
(CBS News / Associated Press, November 6, 2003)
Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield, who with partner Bill Medley pioneered "blue-eyed soul" with hits including "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," has died of undetermined causes at a hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Hatfield was 63. ... In 1962, he met Bill Medley, with whom he later formed the group The Righteous Brothers, whose lasting popularity and strong impact on music was recognized last spring with the duo's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Their signature 1964 single, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" - produced by Phil Spector - has been cited by numerous sources as the most-programmed song in radio history: played at least 8 million times - so far. Later 1960s hits included "Soul and Inspiration" and "Unchained Melody," which found a new audience in 1990 and earned a Grammy nomination as part of the soundtrack of the hit movie "Ghost."
After splitting up in 1968, they reunited in 1974 and returned to the top of the charts with "Rock and Roll Heaven." Medley and Hatfield's songs resonated among other entertainers, as well as the public, and both "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" were Elvis Presley favorites during his last concerts in the 1970s. Like Elvis, Medley and Hatfield owed a musical debt to black music. ...
- WINKLER HONOUR
(4th item)
(Scotsman, November 6, 2003)
Oscar-winner Irwin Winkler will receive the American Society of Cinematographers' Board of Governors Award. The 72-year-old producer will be honoured at the association's awards celebration on February 8 next year. Winkler won best picture honours for 1976's Rocky, which he co-produced with Robert Chartoff.
He began his career in 1967 with the Elvis Presley movie Double Trouble. He went on to produce 1969's They Shoot Horses, Don't They, 1980's Raging Bull, 1983's The Right Stuff, 1990's GoodFellas, and 1992's Night and the City.
Winkler is being honoured for advancing the art of making movies. Past award recipients include Gregory Peck, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Warren Beatty, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola and Jodie Foster.
- One box not enough to cover Campbell: Capitol's massive new four-CD set can't quite sum up Glen Campbell's storied career
By John Gerome
(Ventura Country Star / Associated Press, November 6, 2003)
From 1967 to 1980, Glen Campbell scored 48 country hits and 34 pop hits. Many of them are collected on Capitol Nashville's four-disc set, "Glen Campbell: The Legacy 1961-2002." Glen Campbell is talking about the time he played guitar on Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" and begins to hum the familiar melody. Moments later, he's talking about the rock band Cream's performance on his TV show, and he starts growling the opening riff to "Sunshine of Your Love." ... Besides Sinatra, Campbell recorded with Elvis, Jan & Dean, the Righteous Brothers, Merle Haggard, Nat "King" Cole, The Monkees, Ricky Nelson, Jimmy Rogers, Wayne Newton, the Mamas and the Papas, Dean Martin and others. ...
- Voyager may have reached edge of solar system
By STEVE CONNOR
(New Zealand Herald, November 6, 2003)
It was launched in the same year that Elvis died of a heart attack. Since its launch in 1977, the Voyager 1 space probe has witnessed at close hand the violent "red spot" of Jupiter, a permanent storm on its equator, and taken stunning photographs of the planet's four largest moons. A few years later, it made a dramatic fly-by of Saturn's moon Titan, and in 1991 its camera pointed briefly back towards Earth to capture virtually the entire complement of the Solar System's nine planets. In February 1998, Voyager 1 overtook the Pioneer 10 probe, launched in 1972, to become the most distant man-made object in space. Now scientists are wondering if it has broken the ultimate record of space endurance by becoming the first probe to reach the outermost boundary of the Solar System. ...
- Memphis kicks off celebration of 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll
By STEVE CONNOR
(Daytona Beach News / Associated Press, November 5, 2003)
Memphis will mark the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll in 2004 with a yearlong celebration, city officials announced Wednesday. Memphis, considered the birthplace of rock 'n' roll by many musicians and historians, is where Elvis Presley recorded the hit "That's All Right" at Sun Studio on July 5, 1954.
The city will host a series of events beginning New Year's Eve, and organizers are asking radio stations to simultaneously play "That's All Right" on July 5. Organizers hope it will mark the largest playing of a single song at the same moment in history. Mayor Willie Herenton appointed musicians Isaac Hayes, B.B. King, Scotty Moore and Justin Timberlake to serve as "musical ambassadors" for Memphis. Hayes is the Academy Award-winning composer of the musical score to the movie "Shaft," Moore played lead guitar for Presley on all of his Sun Records recordings and Timberlake, a solo vocalist and 'N Sync member, is a Memphis native.
"Rock 'n' roll began in Memphis, and the city continues to be a focal point of enormous musical creativity today," Hayes said. "The blues and rock 'n' roll have always been closely connected, feeding off one another," said King, winner of five straight W.C. Handy Blues entertainer of the year awards. "It's that mixing of styles that has made Memphis such a fertile ground for musicians."
Other musical landmarks in Memphis include the Stax Recording Studio where Otis Redding recorded "Dock of the Bay," Presley's home Graceland, the Orpheum Theatre, the Gibson Guitar Factory and Beale Street, the music entertainment district and home to King's blues club.
- Elvis' granddaughter goes to work
(2nd item)
(New York Daily News, November 5, 2003)
All shook up, indeed. Elvis Presley's granddaughter, Riley Keough, has been signed by IMG models - and she's just 14 years old. The curly blond beauty is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and her first husband, singer and songwriter Danny Keough. Even though IMG is based in New York, "Riley will not be moving out of L.A.," a family pal tells us. "Lisa Marie is encouraging her, but she's not shipping her out anytime soon."
Riley, who resembles her mother but has softer looks, has had other offers to model. But she turned them down because her savvy mom doesn't want her traveling alone to the shows, Star mag reports this week.
- Elvis's Granddaughter Becomes A Model
(Troy Record, November 5, 2003)
Rock legend ELVIS PRESLEY's granddaughter RILEY KEOUGH has been signed as a model. ...
- The early sound still rocks on
By Karl Bremer
(Christian Science Monitor, November 5, 2003)
NEW ORLEANS - "Well the blues had a baby, and they named the baby rock 'n' roll." - Muddy Waters
In the 1950s and '60s New Orleans was the axis of the rock and roll universe. Cosimo Matassa's famous studios were churning out hit after hit for artists such as Fats Domino, Earl King, Tommy Ridgley, and Guitar Slim. Producers such as Allen Toussaint were making household names out of guys like Jessie Hill, Lee Dorsey, and Ernie K-Doe. And local joints, including the Dew Drop Inn and Club Tijuana, were playing host to headliners Little Richard, Dinah Washington, and Huey "Piano" Smith. Musicians were cutting records by day and taking part at night in sweaty jam sessions that pitted the cream of New Orleans's studio players against one another in showdowns called cuttin' contests. The city was awash in groundbreaking music, and even though locals didn't realize it at the time, New Orleans was helping give birth to that baby known as rock 'n' roll.Or, at the very least, was certainly conceiving it there.
A secret society known as the Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau set out last year to re-create those halcyon days of early rock 'n' roll, when blues music was courting R&B and both got left behind. In response to what they saw as a lack of attention and respect paid to many of the architects of rock 'n' roll, the Mystic Knights launched the Ponderosa Stomp in 2002, a three-day showcase of some of the giants and geniuses in the birth of rock 'n' roll. It was packed in between the two weekends of the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Rather than feature an all-star lineup of marquee artists, the Ponderosa Stomp was designed to pay homage to "the true unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll," says chief Mystic Knight, Dr. Ike. These are the studio musicians who performed the yeoman's work behind such revered labels as Chess, Excello, Specialty, Aladdin, Sun, and Imperial.
"They were the building blocks of rock 'n' roll," Ike says. "They did stuff that was so far ahead of their time that people never gave them credit for it. And their influence was so long-lasting that people forgot about it."
The 2002 Stomp featured renowned sidemen like Howlin' Wolf alumni Hubert Sumlin, Henry Gray, and Jody Williams; career members of Elvis's band D.J. Fontana and Scotty Moore; swamp rocker Tony Joe White; guitar demon and former Ornette Coleman sideman James "Blood" Ulmer; powerhouse New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer; R&B legends Earl King, King Lloyd, and Eddie Bo; James Burton, bandleader for Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis; rockabilly original Paul Burlison, accidental inventor of the fuzztone guitar; Chicago bluesman Magic Slim and a reunion of his Teardrops; and the incomparable New Orleans bandleader/songwriter Dave Bartholomew. ...
- Elvis's Granddaughter Becomes A Model
(Troy Record, November 5, 2003)
Rock legend ELVIS PRESLEY's granddaughter RILEY KEOUGH has been signed as a model. ...
- The shadow of Saddam is here
Baghdad Blogger
(Guardian Unlimited, November 5, 2003)
People are starting to call him 'Elvis'. We need Buffy, she knows how to deal with evil. In my naivety, I did actually hope for a peaceful Ramadan. It is supposed to be a month for fasting and prayer, it is the month Mohammed was shown his first glimpse of the divine and was told that the command to download the Koran through the heavenly broadband connection had been initiated, so you would really think Muslims would give it a rest. But, boy, was I wrong, the Iranian news channel started calling it "The Bloody Ramadan" on the second day of the month. I winced when I heard that, but the truth is that the month has started very badly. The attack on al-Rasheed hotel was a surprise to everybody; it was supposed to be within the green zone, ie safe and under control. And I wonder if the attackers knew that Wolfowitz was in the hotel, or was that just an accident? Whatever the answer is, I kind of hope he does not make a visit to my neighbourhood. ...
- Four music publishers put Warner Chappell on their hit list
By Heather Tomlinson
(Guardian Unlimited, November 4, 2003)
Leading music publishers are taking part in a "beauty parade" with financial backers to gather resources for a $1bn (£600m) bid for Warner Chappell, the music publishing business of US media group Time Warner. Three leading industry players are Carlin America, which owns the bulk of the Elvis catalogue in the UK and is headed by industry veteran Freddy Bienstock, Windswept Pacific, led by Evan Medow, and Peermusic, headed by Ralph Peer II. All are independent US music publishers. There is interest, too, from Sony/ATV, which is headed by recent recruit David Hockman, a former PolyGram executive, and jointly owned by the pop star Michael Jackson and electronics group Sony. ... The separate recorded music division of Warner is the focus of attention from Britain's EMI, which is trying to put together a $1.6bn bid, and BMG, the music division of Germany's Bertelsmann. EMI is not yet in exclusive talks. ...
- EBay tries to sell itself to overseas investors: High valuation seen as deterrent to fund managers. Firm says Europe will one day rival
By BERNHARD WARNER
(Toronto Star / REUTERS, November 4, 2003)
EBay Inc. executives led the company's biggest push yet to woo international fund managers as they laid out their strategy yesterday to expand their popular auction sites overseas and sought to pick up investors along the way. The 8-year-old online marketplace has grown into a uniquely profitable Internet business, hosting sales of everything from Elvis key chains to airplane parts. But in trying to win over foreign institutional investors, the one missing piece in the company's broad shareholder base, it faces a major question: Can it sell its business concept to European investors who were stung by so many American dot-coms when the technology bubble burst three years ago? ...
- Wooing consumers with Las Vegas
By STUART ELLIOTT
(New York Times, November 4, 2003)
DECADES after Elvis Presley warbled "Viva Las Vegas," marketers, agencies and media companies are lustily joining the chorus, flooding the commercial culture with images of gambling and Las Vegas to woo consumers. ...
- Fashionistas hip to being squared
By EDWARD BLACK
(news.scotsman.com, November 2, 2003)
DESPITE the presence of a former 007, famous actors and a clutch of supermodels, the humble kilt was the star of a fashion event designed to showcase the best of Scotland at the home of Hollywood. After its inception last year at the start of Tartan Week in New York, Dressed to Kilt made its Los Angeles debut on Saturday night in the art deco surroundings of the Wiltern Theatre. ... In more conventional style the kilt was worn down the catwalk by male supermodel Markus Schenkenberg, actress Dawn Steele, the Earl of Caithness and even the minister for culture and sport, Frank McAveety. ... The kilts worn ranged from the family tartan of the Earl of Caithness to an Elvis Presley impersonator wearing a white kilt with a studded belt, singing Suspicious Minds. ...
- Ad is in tune with top award
(Ananova, November 2, 2003)
A rarely heard track by The Velvet Underground has been named the best TV advertising tune over the past year. I'm Stickin' With You - used in a Hyundai commercial - took the title for best pop tune at the Music In Advertising Awards. ... Sports firm Nike was rewarded for its "innovative" ad music over the past year. Tunes used in its commercials have included chart-topper A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley vs JXL.
- Vegas casino employs celebrity look-alikes as dealers
By Rob Lowman
(Daily Bulletin, November 2, 2003)
When the clock strikes 6 at the Imperial Palace, some familiar faces parade through the casino. OK, you may need to squint a little to ascertain exactly who's who, but somehow when Elvis, Barbra, Elton and other celebrity impersonator dealers arrive to take their places behind blackjack tables, the crowd gets excited. ...
- Boomers Buoy the Struggling Record Industry
By CHRIS NELSON
(New York Times, November 2, 2003)
Beyonce Knowles and 50 Cent have two of the best-selling albums so far this year. Nonetheless, when Borders Books & Music recently redesigned the layouts of the music sections in its more than 420 superstores, the CD's from these and other young hit-makers were booted from prime browsing display space in favor of albums from the likes of Rod Stewart, Sting and Barbra Streisand.
The rearranging proved prescient, as the release of the latest Billboard top 200 albums chart demonstrated. While Clay Aiken, runner-up in the most recent "American Idol" contest and no hipster himself, took the top spot with his debut album, "Measure of a Man," Mr. Stewart finished second with "As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook Vol. II." New releases from Ms. Streisand and the Eagles also landed in the Top 10. All told, artists over the age of 40, like Bette Midler, Van Morrison, Michael McDonald and Simon and Garfunkel, held 11 of the top 50 spots in the Billboard chart. In the same week last year, 7 baby boomers finished in the Top 50.
The growing success of albums by older artists - and of singers like Norah Jones, who appeal to less cutting-edge tastes - offers some solace to an industry mired in a three-year sales slump. Record executives are desperate for any hopeful sign, even if it comes from people with more wrinkles than tattoos.
The record labels have placed most of the blame for the decline on the file-sharing networks on the Internet, and have sued or threatened to sue hundreds of people for illegally distributing free music online. But the older audience, typically more affluent consumers who grew up buying their music on vinyl LP's, seldom uses the free file-sharing sites, according to Forrester Research. And because they account for a growing segment of the record-buying public, labels are increasingly tailoring their releases and their marketing, particularly on television, to reach them.
... But adult buyers are increasingly making their presence known in the industry. Last year, shoppers over the age of 40, who tend to gravitate to graying artists, bought more than 35 percent of all units sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Ten years ago, they accounted for 22.6 percent of all sales. ... Elvis Presley's "Elvis: 2nd to None" and "The Essential Simon & Garfunkel" also made strong showings on the chart. But shoppers are also buying albums of vintage stars recording tried-and-true songs. Mr. Stewart, a long way from his "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" days, now croons classics like "As Time Goes By" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" (a duet with Cher), and sold 212,000 copies of his new album in the first week. (His 2002 volume of standards leapt from 95 to 46 on this week's chart and has sold 1.8 million copies so far.) Ms. Streisand's "The Movie Album," Mr. McDonald's "Motown" and "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" also follow the concept.
"It is a voice matched with material where they know every song on the album, they are well-chosen, and there is a chemistry and magic that is appealing to the public," said Clive Davis, chairman of BMG's RCA Music Group, whose J Records label produced both of Mr. Stewart's collections.
- GO! TONIGHT: Night flight
(5th item)
By Christopher Muther
(Boston Globe, November 1, 2003)
LOSE YOURSELF. Halloween is officially over, but folks are not ready to put away the costumes and grease paint. Tonight at 8, the Goethe-Institut sponsors the Sissi Ball; you can go black tie or try out for the Romy Schneider look-alike contest. Tickets are $25. There's more dressing up at Oni Gallery, where arty types participate in something called the Lotus Blossom Party at 8. Ben McCoy performs as Valerie Solanas, and DJ Flack plays '60s-influenced loops. There's also an homage to '60s girl groups and a salute to Elvis's 1968 comeback special. What this has to do with lotus blossoms, we'll never know. The party is $12; $8 for folks in costume. Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon St., 617-262-6048. Oni Gallery, 684 Washington St., 617-542-6983.
- The great swim flap: Icy conditions in Fairbanks prompt Region IV coaches to do secret squirrel
By ERIC SMITH
(Anchorage Daily News, November 1, 2003)
The latest conspiracy theory has nothing to do with JFK, UFOs or Area 51. It deals with something much more mysterious -- high school swimming. More specifically, the individual results from this weekend's Region IV Swimming and Diving Championships at Bartlett High, which are being concealed from the media like the findings of the Pentagon Papers. Worried that a weather-related delay of the Region VI meet in Fairbanks could give coaches there a chance to tweak their lineups based on what happens in Anchorage, Region IV coaches on Friday voted unanimously to withhold results of the meet until after the end of the region championships. ... Regardless, no one outside the inner circle of the six Region IV teams will know until Sunday afternoon who did what individually. So, if you're looking for the results of, say, the boys 500-yard freestyle or the girls 100 backstroke, you'll have to wait. For all we know, Elvis has them.
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