Here & There …

Quotes from this morning’s Grammy Nominations event – The Washington Post / Associated Press

Reselling tickets in the new millennium – The Economist

Think it’s tough running brick & mortar music stores in the United States? Try Pakistan – International News Network

Rock star hobbies – More than leggy models and rampant debauchery – The Sydney Morning Herald

Kevin Spacey to co-host Nobel Peace Prize concert – Associated Press

Q&A with Peter Case – Dallas Observer

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

We just posted a whole mess of Silverstein dates for February and March 2008. Stops include Sacramento, Austin, Boise, New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Michael McDermott will be keeping busy in 2008. New shows include cities like Hoboken, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York, plus U.K. towns Cambridge, Birmingham , York and Liverpool.

The Audition will be working steadily in January and February. New dates include Atlanta, Dallas and San Diego in January, and Omaha, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland and NYC in February.

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes add ’08 dates for NY, CT, NJ and DC; Six Organs Of Admittance book gigs in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Arlington; Paramore add Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm to the February routing and Neko Case slots Ithaca, NY, and Providence, RY, to her schedule.

During the past two hours we also updated the schedules for New Monsoon, Mirah, Murder By Death, Scott H. Biram, Red Elvises, The Tubes Feat. Fee Waybill, The Acacia Strain, Henry Butler, Lee Rocker, Dolly Parton and Bedouin Soundclash.

But the day isn’t over yet, and we have plenty of new dates and chocolate to make this a Thursday to remember! Don’t miss Your Latest Update, coming up around 3 PM (PST) from Pollstar.com!

This Day In Music History (from Associated Press)

In 1969, a notorious free concert by The Rolling Stones took place at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California. The event grew from a Stones’ concert into an all-day festival. On the advice of the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones hired members of the Hells Angels to provide security at the event, attended by 300 housand people. During the Stones’ performance, members of the motorcycle gang stabbed to death 18-year-old Meredith Hunter, just in front of the stage. A suspect was identified from film shot for the Rolling Stones’ documentary Gimme Shelter, but he was acquitted for justifiable homicide.

In 1949, blues and folk singer Leadbelly, who billed himself as “King of the 12-String Guitar,” died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in New York City. He was 60. Leadbelly, whose real name was Huddie Ledbetter, helped inspire the blues and folk revivals of the 1950’s and ’60s with such songs as “Midnight Special,” “Rock Island Line” and “Goodnight Irene.” Leadbelly spent several lengthy stretches in prison for murder, attempted murder and assault. Legend has it that he was once pardoned by the governor of Texas after charming him with a song.

In 1976, the Sex Pistols played their first national tour date at Leeds, England, on a bill with The Damned, The Clash and Johnny Thunder and the Heartbreakers. All but five of the 15 dates on the tour were cancelled because a member of the Sex Pistols had used a four-letter word during a British television interview.

In 1985, the sound system at Madison Square Garden malfunctioned during a concert by John Mellencamp. The singer offered the audience a refund — about half the people took up his offer — and then played for two more hours.

In 1988, rock balladeer Roy Orbison died in Hendersonville, Tennessee of a heart attack at age 52. His death came at a time of renewed popularity. Orbison’s collaboration with George Harrison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan as the Traveling Wilburys was on its way up the album charts. And their “Handle With Care” was a hit single. Orbison had first become popular two decades earlier with a string of hits, including “Only the Lonely,” “I’m Hurtin'” and “Oh, Pretty Woman.”

In 1995, Michael Jackson collapsed while rehearsing for a much-hyped HBO special that was expected to draw a worldwide TV audience of 250 million. He spent a week in hospital recovering from what his doctors said was severe dehydration caused by a viral infection. The TV show was cancelled.