Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers gonegator.com

'Good old hippie music' from Tom Petty, Mudcrutch in Santa Cruz

2008-04-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

By Shay Quillen
Mercury News

In case anyone didn't know what to expect from Mudcrutch, lead singer Tom Petty set the capacity crowd straight after the first number Monday at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.

"You've come to the right place if you're looking for some good old hippie music tonight," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said, a bass guitar around his neck and a wide grin across his face.

And the quintet - including Mike Campbell on guitar and Benmont Tench on keyboards from Petty's current band, the Heartbreakers - delivered as promised, conjuring memories of the Flying Burrito Brothers, the latter-day Byrds and even the Grateful Dead on both new songs and familiar oldies from its Florida bar-band past.

It was nothing earth-shaking, but the joy and friendship emanating from the stage was contagious.

This was only the second show for the band Petty reassembled last year - after 35 years apart - to record an album of all-new material, set for release later this month. He had formed it with singer-guitarist Tom Leadon in 1970. (The tour continues with sold-out shows tonight and Thursday at the Fillmore in San Francisco.)

In fact, it was the second show ever for this lineup, as Tench didn't officially join until after Leadon left in '72. So it wasn't surprising things started out a bit shaky with a "Shady Grove" that found drummer Randall Marsh struggling to lock in with the rest of the band.

But before long, the easygoing country-rock began to jell on

Petty's fine post-Katrina song "Orphan of the Storm" and the old truck-driving anthem "Six Days on the Road."
By the time they launched into Dylan's "Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)," the band was firing on all cylinders, and a powerful version of the Byrds' "Lover of the Bayou" played to the band's strengths perfectly.

Much of the night, however, was devoted to brand-new Petty tunes. The first single, "I Don't Scare Easy," could easily have fit on a recent Heartbreakers album, but other songs allowed Petty to explore less-traveled terrain: "House of Stone" echoes Hank Williams; "Crystal River" gives his buddy Campbell a chance to flex his inner Jerry Garcia.

Leadon acquitted himself ably singing harmony to Petty, but his lightweight lead vocals sounded more suited for a coffeehouse than a barn-burning rock band.

On guitar, however, his interplay with Campbell was often thrilling, especially on the new Campbell/Petty composition "Bootleg Flyer." Tench was his usual expert self on piano and organ.

The set closed with a raucous "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" that found many in the crowd taking the "everybody must get stoned" chorus to heart.

For the encores, the hardwood floor of the Civic turned into a hippie sock hop as Mudcrutch rocked through hot versions of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "High School Confidential."

By then, Petty wasn't the only one with a huge grin.

gonegator.com Music Player

2008-03-20T18:22:00.001-07:00

Wondering where that music is coming from!?!?! I've embed a playlist from Project Playlist to the bottom of the blog. Check it out!

Mudcrutch California Tour Dates

2008-03-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

DEBUT ALBUM FROM MUDCRUTCH AVAILABLE APRIL 29CALIFORNIA TOUR DATES START APRIL 12HIGHWAY COMPANION CLUB PRESALES BEGIN FRIDAY MARCH 21

The long awaited debut album from Mudcrutch, recorded in just two weeks lastAugust, will be released on Reprise Records on April 29. Mudcrutch featuresTom Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Tom Leadon, and Randall Marsh.

In the early 70's, they were heroes in their hometown of Gainesville,Florida. Mudcrutch seemed poised for more. But the band never cracked thenational music scene or made a full album. Now, more than 30 years later andquite unexpectedly, the Mudcrutch story continues.
In addition to the release of the album on April 29, the band will undertakea short tour of intimate California venues starting on April 12 in Malibu and ending with a four-night run at the 500 capacity Troubadour in LosAngeles.

Mudcrutch Tour Dates:
April 12- Benefit For The Midnight Mission at Malibu PAC, Malibu, CA

April 14- Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA

April 16- Fillmore, San Francisco, CA

April 17- Fillmore, San Francisco, CA

April 19- Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA

April 20- Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA

April 22- Concerts in The Park, Alpine, CA

April 25- Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

April 26- Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

April 28- Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

April 29- Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

Each person who orders tickets to the April Mudcrutch concerts will receive6 downloadable tracks from the upcoming album before the album release date.

There will be Mudcrutch concert tickets available to Highway Companion Clubmembers during a special presale prior to the public ticket onsale. Due tothe intimate nature of these venues please keep in mind that presale ticketswill be limited and with the exception of Santa Barbara there will be noreserved seats.

For more info, visit MUDCRUTCHMUSIC.COM
Presales begin on March 21 at 10am PST for the following dates:
April 14- Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA

April 16- Fillmore, San Francisco, CA

**April 17- Fillmore, San Francisco, CA

**April 19- Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA

April 20- Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA

The Mudcrutch presales will be sold via Ticketmaster. For most shows on the Mudcrutch tour, fan club members are limited to four (4) tickets per show with a maximum four (4) tickets per single membership for the entire tour.

For the Fillmore concerts in San Francisco, there is a two (2) ticket limit for this presale.
**Additional Information: In the spirit of fair access to tickets for fans, this event is a "WILL CALL ONLY" event. UPS and Ticketfast will not be available as delivery choices. You will need to bring your government-issued photo ID and credit card used to purchase the tickets to the box office window on the night of the show to retrieve these tickets. Once your order is picked up you must immediately enter the venue. ** Will call tickets must be picked up by card holder. Alternate names for will call will not be allowed. ** *** TICKETMASTER AT ITS DISCRETION WILL CANCEL ANY AND ALL ORDERS WITHOUT NOTICE THAT EXCEED THE TICKET LIMIT. THIS INCLUDES DUPLICATE ORDERS HAVING THE SAME NAME, BILLING ADDRESS OR CREDIT CARD. ***

No changes or drop offs for this show.

Runnin' Down a Dream: Mike Campbell

2008-03-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

by Tom Guerra
Premier Guitar Magazine

Mike Campbell has been laying down tasteful, unobtrusive licks for over 30 years, and while that might be enough for lesser constitutions, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. We sit down with Mike to talk about the music, the gear and the state of rock n’ roll.

For well over 30 years, Mike Campbell’s tasteful guitar playing has been a key ingredient to the success of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Although initially inspired by first generation rock n’ rollers Scotty Moore and Luther Perkins, his primary influences can be traced to the 1960s, particularly guitarists from the British Invasion, including George Harrison, Keith Richards and Brian Jones. Mike’s straightforward melodies have served as the cornerstones of many rock classics, including “Breakdown,” “American Girl,” “Refugee” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” with his understated playing giving these songs an eternal freshness. Relying on melody, tone and dynamics versus flash, even Campbell’s earliest work with the Heartbreakers sounded mature beyond his years.

From the beginning, he has been heavily involved in constructing the arrangements for the Heartbreakers’ tunes. As a coauthor, Mike has been responsible for some of the band’s biggest hits, as well as two of Don Henley’s biggest songs, “The Boys of Summer” and “Heart of the Matter.” Time and time again, he has demonstrated that great songs are all about melody, construction and amazing guitar sounds. Like George Harrison before him, Mike reminds us that no matter what guitar he is playing – be it 12-string, slide, acoustic or electric – the most important thing is to always respect the song.

To celebrate the 30 plus years of the Heartbreakers, director Peter Bogdanovich put together a high-quality DVD boxed set called Runnin’ Down a Dream, which has the potential to go down as one of the best rock n’ roll documentaries ever created. In the film, Mike displays a sense of candor and comes across as both caring and wise – qualities which also emerged in our interview. Shortly after our chat, it was announced that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would be joining a small but elite class of musicians who have been chosen to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Hi Mike, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. First off, congratulations on the new DVD, Runnin’ Down a Dream; Peter Bogdanovich did a fantastic job on it and the amount of old footage is amazing. It’s a great close-up of the band’s 30-year career, but I still get the feeling that there’s plenty ahead for the Heartbreakers. Are you guys planning on touring in 2008?

Yes we are – we’re planning on putting a tour together for next summer.

I understand you have a new side project called The Dirty Knobs. Can you tell us about that? Are you guys doing mostly original stuff?

We do mostly originals, but do the odd cover now and then, like The Beatles’ “She Said, She Said,” or something by the Kinks or Chuck Berry – older stuff – and then arrange it to fit our group. The Dirty Knobs is myself and another guitarist named Jason Sinay, Matt Laug on drums and Lance Morrison on bass. It’s all about fun, it’s a very spiritual band, and we’re not concerned about trying to get a record deal.

Have The Dirty Knobs been in the studio, and if so, can we expect a release anytime soon?

We’ve recorded a lot and it’s great stuff, but I don’t know that we want to take on the industry right now because we’ve got such a good thing going. I almost don’t want to bring that energy to it, because it is such a great way to just go out and play.

How did you develop your style of playing? Did you take lessons or learn mostly from records?

Back then we didn’t have cassette players or anything, but I would sometimes slow the records down and listen real close and try to figure out how the guitar player was doing certain things. I had a couple of guitar books too. There was one I had, I wish I still had it – it was How to Play the Guitar with Carl Wilson [of the Beach Boys], and it had pictures of his hands. I met him several years later and said, “Hey, I had your book” and he was sort of blown away, and said, “Oh, my Dad put that together!” So I got a couple of ideas on how to finger certain chords from that, but most of it I just picked up by ear, off the records.

So no formal lessons?

No, I never did, but when I was real young – I guess I was in sixth grade – my parents got me some accordion lessons in school, so I kinda learned a little bit of basic theory from that. I can read, really painfully slow, but not enough to actually use it.

Were you just playing with an acoustic at that point?

My mom got me my first guitar, a Harmony acoustic for $30 that was unplayable. The strings were so high and I would struggle like crazy and my fingers would bleed trying to play the damn thing. Then I went to a friend’s house one day and he had a Gibson SG, and I could not believe how easy it was to push the strings down. So I started on that Harmony acoustic and later on my Dad got me my first electric guitar, a Goya. I wish I still had those, but I gave them away over the years.

What were you playing the Goya through?

My first amp was my record player. My dad was an electrician and he had a record player that was all in pieces, so I just plugged my guitar into that.

Did you have a group at this point?

I was just trying to learn how to play; I’d get together in the garage with friends occasionally and try to play “Louie, Louie” or something like that. I didn’t really get a group together until I went to college; then I met Tom and joined his group called Mudcrutch.

In the movie, it shows that Mudcrutch left Florida in 1974 for the West Coast, and within a few days you had several record contract offers and eventually signed with Denny Cordell – that seems unbelievable, especially in this day and age.

Yes it was, but it was a different time back then, and record companies were a little more concerned with artistic development and less concerned about the bottom line. Especially Cordell, who really had an artistic vision and who was really helpful to us, as they touch on in the film. He had made lots of records to be respected, and he really saw a germ of talent in Tom’s songwriting. He really nurtured it, and kind of helped us filter out what was good and what wasn’t good about what we were doing. He was tremendously helpful in getting us on the right path.

That first Heartbreakers album has some great guitar tones on it – do you remember what you were playing?

Most of the guitar tones on that first record were Tom playing my ’64 Stratocaster and me on a ‘50s Broadcaster through a tweed Fender Deluxe and a [1970s] Fender Super Six, which were in the Shelter Records studio.

That Stratocaster was something I had gotten for $200, and I didn’t have the money, so someone had fronted it to me. I did like the guitar sounds on that record, especially the crunch of that tweed Deluxe, which is like the one Neil Young uses that has such a beautiful distortion.

I saw your most recent tour last summer and know that you are using dozens of guitars live, but what's your current stage amp setup?

We have a combination of things; on the last few tours, we brought the [Vox] Super Beatles back after having retired them for a while because they are really loud, and as we got older it was harder to sing over that volume. We brought them back because we missed some of the tones that we used to get from them. Those Super Beatles are on stage now - I'm not actually playing through them but Tom does on a couple of songs. Behind them are the things that we are actually using in the mix.

Right now my favorite setup, which I kinda found with my little band in the clubs but I use onstage now with the Heartbreakers, is a tweed Deluxe and a blackface Fender Princeton together behind the Super Beatle, and an isolated Vox AC30 that I have backstage in a box. The guy up front can pull up any of those amps that fit the room that night, but mostly it's the blackface Princeton and the tweed Deluxe, which is a '59. Those two amps sound really great together.

You came out of the era of the big guitar hero, but you managed to avoid all the excess wanking that made a lot of their records seem self-indulgent and ultimately sound very dated. I have always likened you to a George Harrison or Keith Richards type of player; someone that was always very sympathetic to playing exactly what fit the song versus showboating.

We came up out of Florida and at that time, there were a lot of Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd-type bands. And we liked that stuff, but what we loved even more than that was early Beatles and the Stones - three-minute songs, with good guitar parts and not necessarily long guitar solos. We just preferred that style of music, and figured out early on that all of those other bands were trying to sound like the Allman Brothers, and we didn't want to do that, we wanted to do what we liked. And that's really always been our approach!

How do you approach soloing? Do you work stuff out beforehand, simply let it flow, or is it a combination of both?

The song comes in, and the purpose is to serve the song, not the guitar part. You used George Harrison and Keith Richards as examples; really cool rhythm parts played between the vocal, with a short solo that says something then gets out of the way for the next vocal. It's a challenge to make your statement in a short amount of time, but I prefer that challenge as opposed to just stretching out. We can do that too, and nowadays we will stretch out a few things, but anytime that it starts to drift away from the song, we kind of lose interest.

What really comes across in the new DVD is that besides the respect the Heartbreakers have for their music, there seems to be a genuine love for each other, too.

I think that's right - that's what hit me when I saw the film. It was like, "God, we really like each other!" [laughs] I mean, guys don't sit around saying, "Hey, I love you man," but when I saw the film I thought, hey, there really is a love here, and we stuck together through a lot of hard times because we really have strong feelings for the music we make together. And it's not an act, it's true love.

Your musical relationship with Tom obviously goes way beyond the typical rhythm/lead classifications. How do you decide who is going to play what?

Typically it would go one of two ways; if it's a song that Tom's written on his own, he'll bring it in, play it down and we'll listen to it, and start to join in as we begin to understand what he's doing. I usually come up with a complementary rhythm part to what he's singing. When we come to a solo, we typically don't work that out, but we like to record them as you're discovering them - just sort of make something up. And usually the first or second idea you come up with is the best one. You listen to that and kind of edit it a bit, sticking with your first inspiration.

Another way we'll go is if it is a song I've written, I'll bring in some music and Tom might write lyrics to it, and sometimes in that music, the guitar parts have been already worked out. Then we'd cut the record and try to recreate what we liked about the demo. Most of the solos on our records are just off the cuff and sorted out from that first inspiration. For instance, on "Breakdown," we were cutting the song and it went on for about six minutes, and I was playing along, trying a couple of different things, and by the end of the six minutes, I was drifting off and hit on that melody riff, which I was playing on a slide. Everybody liked that line, so I learned it and went back and played it at the top of the song. That's an example of something that was off the cuff that was then edited and fit in because it made sense.

You've co-authored some of Tom Petty's biggest songs, as well as other hits. How do you approach your writing - do you come up with a riff first or a lyric?

Well, I'm always writing, even when I don't have a guitar in front of me, I'm always trying to keep the antenna open to any idea that might come, at any time. It's a mysterious thing - writing is a gift, and it's a sort of channeling. Sometimes it's not even coming from you, you are just sort of open and things come to you. A lot of times, it will just happen if you are in the right state of mind, the ideas just come.

Sometimes if I'm stuck, I will play a song that I like, a Beatles or Stones song, to get me in the state of mind to just open up, to have a pivotal point that I can key from. Other times, I might put on a song I've heard a million times and listen. Or I might hear something on the radio, and think, wow, that's a great chord or sequence, and I'll sit down and learn it, and as I'm learning it, I might get an idea to do something like it but different - I might play the chords backwards, or take a lick and stick it over a different chord, and that will lead me into something that's mine, which was inspired by something that turned me on. Sometimes you'll just hear a chord, you'll sit down and learn it, and you think, this is a great chord, and you can just write a whole different song starting with that as your foundation. That's the beauty of writing - you can tap the soul of the thing that inspired you and find a way to make it your own. It's hard to talk about it because it's very mysterious.

How do you think your playing has changed over the years?

Tom said something in the film about when he first met me and said, "He played as good then as he does now." [laughs] What's interesting is that musicians get to a point where you get pretty good, and that's pretty much who you are, at least in the kind of music we're doing. You can look at Clapton, Jimmy Page or George Harrison - once they started establishing their talent, I really don't know how much they improved. So that's probably where I'm at, too. I play the guitar all of the time, but I'm not interested in playing faster, or more technically. I always try to work on my rhythm and my tone and my song sense - that's just something that I focus on and always try to get better at. But am I better than I was? I don't know. In some ways I'm the same as I always was. I think I'm more mature and may make better choices in my composition than I might have earlier.

In your 30 plus years as a Heartbreaker, you've had some lineup changes in your rhythm section. How does playing with Steve Ferrone compare with previous drummer Stan Lynch, who left in the nineties?

Stan and Steve are completely different. Stan always played with more of a "member of the band" mentality. He was always just part of the band and a friend from early on, and there was that kind of bond that is unique to him. He was essential to helping us find our original sound and he was part of that sound. The way he played really complemented that, and you can't take that away from him. He's a great background singer and he was really important on that level early on and for many years. Stan was really great live; he had energy and power and confidence, and was a cheerleader, too. He would get us up when we were down, and he was a real strong and emotional force, especially live where his energy was really powerful. We got to the point in the studio where we got really pissy with each other and it got really uncomfortable for him - it was time for him to go and do the other things that he wanted to do.

Steve Ferrone came in, and he's never been in a band long-term until us. He's more of a session guy, and his approach is very professional and accurate, and his time is really good. He's great in the studio because he's very consistent and he doesn't get emotional or wrapped up in it. He brings sort of a "studio cat" mentality - he does his job, and you don't have to think about whether the drums are going to speed up or slow down. He just gets his job done and you can focus on the song and not get hung up on that. He's a sweet guy, and he brought a lot of professionalism and accuracy, and Steve is great live, too. But it's hard to compare two different human beings; they are both great in their own way and equally talented in different ways.

And of course, Ron Blair was originally your bassist, then Howie Epstein and now Ron again.

Ron was a founding member and was very instrumental to us finding our original groove, sound and vibe, and that's irreplaceable; it was sad when he left. Howie came in and was a great harmony singer, which was the main thing he brought to us. Howie played the bass more like a guitar player or a singer who was accompanying his voice, and Ron was more like a bass player in terms of his groove and feel. And they're both valid in their own way. I don't prefer one over the other - they are both equally talented. It was of course very tragic and unbearably sad that Howie passed away, but we were pleased to bring Ron, who was part of our original soul, back. [After leaving the Heartbreakers] Ron and I stayed in touch for many years, played in the studio and were very close. When Howie's leaving left a void, and it was like "Oh, now we have to audition some guys," and if that didn't feel good, we probably would have disbanded rather than do that.

Was Ron in a band during those interim years?

No, the most playing Ron did was with me; he'd come over and cut songs in my studio. We stayed close and his chops were up, so I brought him in and suggested that he'd be our best choice. Tom was pleased to see that Ron had improved and still had soul, and it all worked out.

I understand you are currently working on a new album with Rick Rubin and Neil Diamond - what can you tell us about that?

I think it's coming out next year. It's all acoustic and it's similar to the last record that Rick did with Neil Diamond. It's a challenge because there is no rhythm section; it's me, and Smokey Hormel, this guy Matt Sweeney, who is really good on acoustic guitar, Benmont [Tench] and Neil. Once again, it's Neil's songs and Neil's feel, and we're making him play the guitar, which he's starting to get back into again, and we're playing around the feel and the songs, trying to complement his guitar with acoustics. It's really fun and it's a real challenge, and working with Rick is always inspiring. Rick is brilliant; he loves music, he loves getting it right, he loves good songs and I've always loved working with him.

Are there any current players you are listening to these days?

I struggle to think of someone recently - I tend to gravitate toward older players that influenced me originally. I love J.J. Cale, but he's been around for years, and I like Mark Knopfler, who I think emulates J.J. I do like Derek Trucks, I think he's amazing. A lot of the new bands, though, have a different approach to guitar than back when I started. I don't like flashy stuff - I like songs with good melodies and it seems that no one is doing that these days.

What is your take on the state of rock n' roll today?

It's alive - you can't kill it. When I play with my little band at clubs, there are moments that make me remember why I started doing it, playing in a room with 100 people or whatever, and there are moments that are as pure as anything in its own way. We may not have the songs or the hits, but there is a purity in a room with a band that's got a sound and is playing to a small group, and it's all happening in this little room - to me, that is where rock n' roll is still alive. It's hard for me to put that into words, but to me it's like a religion, it's just gotta be, and it always will be, because there is nothing like it. It's the best medicine for the soul that's ever been.

From having numerous platinum albums and Grammys to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, what do you feel has been the highlight of your career?

[pauses] Well, there have been lots of high points. I went and saw this play called Jersey Boys, about the Four Seasons, and at the end of the play, the actor that played Frankie Valli said something that rang true. They asked him the same question, what he considered the high point to be, and his answer was, "The high point for me was when we were standing under the street lamp, and we found our sound, and we knew it was all ahead of us, and we knew what was going to happen." And for me, I had that same feeling when we cut "American Girl" in the studio, because we found a sound and a vibe that was ours, and I remember feeling that we had found something really special that no one else could do, and this can be us, this can identify our trip. I could feel it. It hadn't happened yet, but I could sense that, "we've gotten something here." And that was probably the high point for me. There's been other successes here and there.

That's the understatement of the year!

Really, when I heard that character say that, it was so true. "American Girl" was such a big spark, and when we realized that, we knew we had something!

Mudcrutch Album Art

2008-03-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Mudcrutch mangement has asked me to let everyone know that THIS (right) is the correct album artwork for the Mudcrutch CD. According to management, the release date is April 29, 2008. Pre-order NOW at amazon.com.

The one floating around with stitching on it, as seen on Mudcrutch Farm (left) is WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOONGA! (I actually had a law teacher who pronounced wrong that way, kinda stuck.)

New gonegator.com Message Board

2008-03-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,
Well, over the last few days, the reasons why I don't post at the official BBS too much have come to surface. SO, I've built this...

http://gonegator.com/forum

If you're sick of the BS, come check it out. I will try to dow a decent job of boderating it. Also, if you don't have a sense of humor, this may not be for you!

Sean

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Headline San Francisco Festival

2008-03-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

Mitchell Peters, L.A.
The U.S. festival frenzy continues with today's (March 3) announcement that Radiohead, Tom Petty and Jack Johnson will headline San Francisco's inaugural Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, to be held Aug. 22-24 at Golden Gate Park.

"This has been a project we've been working on for almost three years," Superfly Productions president Jonathan Mayers tells Billboard.com. "We're going to produce something special here -- something that maybe the Bay Area hasn't seen before."

Additional acts for Outside Lands will be announced in the coming weeks, says Mayers, who promises a "strong and diverse" lineup of such musical genres as rock, blues, reggae, jazz, hip-hop, world, soul, Latin and electronic. The festival, which will boast five main performance stages, will also feature a number of local Bay Area artists.

The event is being produced by Superfly Productions, Another Planet Entertainment and Star Hill Presents, in cooperation with the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department. Mayers, whose company produces the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in conjunction with A.C.

Entertainment, says Outside Lands tickets will go on sale around the end of March."We are starting with a three-day ticket and depending on availability we're going to do single-day tickets," he explains. "We're still finalizing the exact price, but we're going to offer an initial discounted ticket to people."

A portion of every ticket sold will benefit Golden Gate Park, which has hosted a number of concerts over the years, including the Tibetan Freedom Concert, Peter Gabriel's WOMAD Festival and the Guinness Fleadh Festival.

The 1,000-plus acre park has also seen performances from such artists as Pearl Jam, Neil Young and Dave Matthews.Noting that concerts are nothing new for Golden Gate Park, Mayers says Outside Lands will be the first music event there to run past 6 p.m. "We're going until the 10 o1clock curfew on Friday and Saturday," he says.

"It's a little bit earlier on Sunday. That alone will be special."Outside Lands will arrive approximately one month prior to San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival (Sept. 20-21) and several months ahead of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (April 25-27) in Indio, Calif. Despite the competition in California, not to mention other large-scale festivals throughout North America, Mayers is confident that Outside Lands will draw about 60,000 nationwide concertgoers per day.

"While we stay aware of what's out there, I think our philosophy is to stay focused on what we're doing and just make it the best event it can be," he explains. "I'm confident it will go great. And I'm sure the other events will do great as well -- there's certainly room.

"Mayers adds that the combined knowledge and experience of Superfly Productions (which also produces the Vegoose event in Las Vegas) and Bay Area-based Another Planet Entertainment will prove beneficial to festival-goers. "[Another Planet] is doing great shows and have a lot of experience on the local level," Mayers observes. "We bring the expertise on the festival level.

It's about creating more than just a normal concert. We're really trying to build an annual tradition in San Francisco -- something that really integrates into the community."

Canada's Kathleen Edwards maintains her unsentimental course

2008-03-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

The characters that flash through Kathleen Edwards' new album don't face the boy-girl dilemmas common to pop songs.

There's the young girl about to be murdered who mourns every question she'll never have answered in life. A woman exasperated by the endless responsibilities of caring for a family member deformed by mental illness. A young man who risks arrest by dodging the draft. And two rival bandmates, one of whom constantly upstages the other with his effortless cool.

"Boy-girl dynamics are only interesting for so long," Edwards says. "I really tried to stay away from that, to write something new."

Edwards' efforts to freshen up the subject matter appropriate to a song made her stand out from the start. Her writing shows a strong sense of plot and character, and often is marked by a bracing lack of sentimentality.

In a key cut from her last work - 2005's "Back to Me" - a woman watches a TV-news report showing her criminal lover facing down a squad of police officers who have him cornered. Instead of fretting over his fate, the woman sneers to herself, "Maybe 20 years in state [prison] will change your mind."

No wonder many observers have commented that Edwards doesn't "write like a girl."
"When I first started writing songs, my influences were male," says Edwards, 29. "I have no intention of becoming the next Jewel. I don't want to be airy-fairy."

There's little chance of that on "Asking for Flowers," out Tuesday. Not only does Edwards use its muscular lyrics to explore some hard characters, the music is her most assertive to date.
She credits "99.5%" of that to producer Jim Scott, known for his work with the seminal alterna-country rock band Whiskeytown.

"I bought their 'Stranger's Almanac' album when it came out," Edwards says. "It was the early time of my discovering noncommercial music. I would listen to it all the time and look at [Scott's] name on the back cover. That [I] would [work with him] is a dream come true."

As usual, Edwards' latest folk-rock songs draw key inspiration from Tom Petty and Neil Young. She even has Petty's keyboardist, Benmont Tench, playing on the album.

Edwards' admiration for lead Heartbreaker Petty isn't confined to his music. "He doesn't bend in what he believes in," she says. "That he has never sold his music to commercials - there are very few classic rock artists who haven't. I can understand wanting to expose yourself to a new audience by having a song in a Nokia commercial. But what the f- do I care about Nokia phones? To me, there's an ethical conflict."

The return of the Zombies on the never-ending ‘Odessey'

2008-03-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

They first invaded in 1964, now, thanks to fans such as Alex Turner, Dave Grohl and Beck, the Zombies are back

Pete Paphides

About ten years ago Tom Petty said: “If a group like the Zombies appeared now, they would own the world.” After ten minutes spent in their company, the glowing testimonial brings a smile to your face. Petty might have added, though, that if the four solicitous sixtysomethings gathered at a London hotel were offered ownership of the world, they would probably be too polite to accept it. And it seems that they always were. Asked about the title of their 1968 album Odessey & Oracle, the reunited Zombies tell you that they decided to run with the wrong spelling of “odyssey” because none of them had the heart to tell the sleeve's designer, Terry Quirk, about his mistake.

As the Zombies prepare to take that album on the road for the first time, the world has come around to agreeing that Quirk's spelling is pretty much the only imperfection on Odessey & Oracle. The album sank on its release, but word-of-mouth has slowly but dramatically installed the Zombies' baroque pop swansong in the pantheon of classic albums. Recent converts to its period charms include Alex Turner, Belle & Sebastian, Dave Grohl and Beck, while, back in the days of the Jam, Paul Weller called it one of his favourite albums. “That made me sit up and take notice,” recalls the Zombies' keyboard player, Rod Argent. “The idea that one of these angry young musicians went on record to say they liked the Zombies.”

Argent's humility is more surprising for the fact that it withstood the surreal scenes experienced by any band that achieved Stateside success in the Sixties. By scaling the US charts in 1964, She's Not There effectively turned Beatlemania into a full-on British Invasion. Sipping tea, singer Colin Blunstone talks of having to change hotels constantly: “You had to, if you stood any chance of slipping away from these screaming schoolgirls.” Argent recalls one fan snipping off half his scarf with a view to moving on to his hair.

Throughout all this the group from St Albans, Hertfordshire, never seemed to shake off a feeling that stardom was something that happened to other people. That they were grammar school boys initially offered up a press angle that accentuated their apartness. Reviewing She's Not There, Disc magazine said: “You'd never guess the group had 50 GCEs between them.”

It may have also contributed to the sense of outsiderdom. Drugs may have been a rock'n'roll staple, but Blunstone says that he never saw any. “I saw far more musicians eating greasy 2am breakfasts at the Blue Boar services on the M1 than I ever saw popping pills.”

Nonetheless, without or without drugs, in 1966 the Beatles, the Byrds and the Beach Boys cut loose from notions of what could and couldn't be done within a pop group. The Zombies wanted to follow suit, but they were saddled with a producer who wanted them to stick close to the formula of She's Not There. So they produced Odessey & Oracle themselves. “Producing it ourselves was a matter of pride,” says Argent. “If we could just fulfil our creative potential then we could go out on a high.” Chris White, the band's bass player, suggests that much of what later came to be termed “psychedelic” was really just “a realisation that you could write songs about all sorts of things”.

And they did. Brief Candles was inspired by a book of Aldous Huxley stories. In Care of Cell 44 Argent's lyrics addressed a lover as she awaited release from prison. Odessey & Oracle was recorded around the same time - and at the same studio, Abbey Road - as Sgt Pepper. Common to both albums is an innocence that accrues extra poignancy with the passing of time. Friends of Mine was a paean to the band's courting friends. Only one of the couples mentioned is still together. “They must be getting a bit worried,” laughs the drummer Hugh Grundy.

And it's hard to read a title such as This Must Be Our Year without pondering the irony of what followed. For what followed was not a lot. Odessey & Oracle failed to find its way on to CBS's release schedules until the following year. By the time it yielded an American hit with Time of the Season - late 1968 - White and Argent had formed Argent. As they pressed on with a loss-making tour of America, at least three other fake Zombies formed to milk Time of the Season's belated success. Back in London, Blunstone fared little better. “I didn't know what I was going to do, really.”

So while Argent and White indulged their proggier pretensions with Argent, Blunstone - the owner of possibly the most quintessentially English pop voice of its generation - got a job in the burglary claims department at Sun Alliance Insurance. Odessey & Oracle's eventual success has conferred a pleasing symmetry upon this story. It was the record that precipitated their split. Now, with NME placing it in its selection of the top 50 British albums, it's the record that has sparked this reunion. Unfinished business? “No,” says Argent, “I'm here and the guys are here and, with that in mind ...”

As ever, Blunstone's interjection sees him trying to accommodate the wishes of the wider world “... it would be impolite not to, don't you think?”

The Zombies' UK tours starts on Sunday. Details
from myspace.com/ thezombies

New Mudcrutch - RedSlater.com

2008-02-29T13:56:00.000-08:00

New release date according to Amazon.com, April 15th!

http://www.amazon.com/Mudcrutch/dp/B0015FHDS6/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1204810964&sr=8-13

Got this email last week from Red Slater.

Hello Sean-
Glad you got the site running again. I was surprised to see it missing.
I heard the Mudcrutch CD will be out early March, so I will probably start up a Google ad soon. Thanks for the reference to my site.

If you want a Mudcrutch picture for your site, just let me know. I will be glad to give you something.

Red

Reminder: All music released in the United States is released on a TUESDAY! So start watching your local stores!

About Red Slater & Mudcrutch (from RedSlater.com)
In 1969 I moved in with a friend, Randall Marsh, and his roommate, Mike Campbell. The old cracker house was on the north side of Gainesville, and somewhat isolated...but the rent was cheap. They were then playing in a band called 'Dead or Alive', which played local venues.
I had been taking pictures in Gainesville for several years, so setting up my darkroom in the small bedroom there was quite normal.

In 1970 Randall auditioned for a band that Tom Pety and Tom Leadon were forming.
Tom was playing bass at the time, and when Randall suggested his roommate could play lead, Mike came out holding a cheap guitar, only to meet some skeptical looks. It only took a few chords of 'Johnny B. Goode', and, well, the rest is history.

By late 1970 the first Mudcrutch music festival was happening at the house, soon to be nicknamed 'Mudcrutch Farm.'

I took pictures of the band as it evolved, with my final pictures being in 1974. To be honest, I never dreamed that these guys would be so successful. I was just taking pictures of them because they were my friends.

My pictures have been used in the 'Playback' collection, the 'Anthology Through the Years' CD, on VH1's 'Behind the Music - Tom Petty', in the Rolling Stone and Goldmine magazines, and in the book 'Conversations With Tom Petty.' At the end of 2007, more pictures were included in the book and movie 'Runnin' Down a Dream.'

You may recognize some of the images here, but some have never been published. I hope you enjoy them..... Red Slater

Visit http://www.redslater.com/

More Tom Petty News

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Perform at the United Center July 2

2008-02-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

Heartbreakers will be performing live at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on July 2 at 7:30 pm.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their first album in 1976 but did not gain recognition until 1977 after the re-release of the single “Breakdown,” which peaked at #40 on the charts in 78. The band followed the album with Your Gonna Get It!, featuring “I Need to Know” and “Listen to Her Heart” which later became the band’s first gold album. The band’s third album, Damn the Torpedoes quickly went platinum and featured the band’s breakthrough singes, “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “Refugee.”

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are spending 2008 on their North American Tour performing at venues across the United States and Canada. Steve Windwood will open for every show.

The United Center is located in the Near West Side area of Chicago, Illinois. The indoor sports arena is named after United Airlines, its corporate sponsor. Current residents include the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.

The center opened in August 18, 1994. It replaced the Chicago Stadium which was shortly demolished after United Center’s opening.

Steve Winwood Joins Tom Petty, Readies New Disc

2008-02-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

By Mack Rawden:

Steve Winwood is underrated. No, he’s beyond underrated. He’s categorically ignored, and that startling fact should be appalling to anyone with even the vaguest knowledge of music history. At fifteen, Steve Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group and recorded a slew of great songs, including the brilliant “Gimme Some Lovin’.” By his early twenties, he’d formed Traffic, played alongside Eric Clapton in Blind Faith, and even convinced Hendrix to record “All Along The Watchtower.” What else? Oh yeah, he performed the organ work on Joe Cocker’s cover of “With A Little Help From My Friends” and contributed all the samples for Eric Prydz’s “Call On Me.” At some point, he also wrote “Higher Love”, one of my favorite songs–ever!

According to Billboard, Steve Winwood has signed with Columbia Records and will release a new album entitled Nine Lives, which fittingly includes nine songs. He’s also agreed to tour with Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers this summer as their opening act. When does he sleep? Do yourself a favor and pick up anything he’s ever touched. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Here’s a video of Steve performing “Gimme Some Lovin”...

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Perform at the Hollywood Bowl June 25

2008-02-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be performing live at the Hollywood Bowl on June 25 at 7:00 pm.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their first album in 1976 but did not gain recognition until 1977 after the re-release of the single “Breakdown,” which peaked at #40 on the charts in 78. The band followed the album with Your Gonna Get It!, featuring “I Need to Know” and “Listen to Her Heart” which later became the band’s first gold album. The band’s third album, Damn the Torpedoes quickly went platinum and featured the band’s breakthrough singes, “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “Refugee.”

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are spending 2008 on their North American Tour performing at venues across the United States and Canada. Steve Windwood will open for every show.
A modern amphitheatre in Hollywood, California, the Hollywood Bowl opened on July 11, 1922 on a natural amphitheater previously named the Daisy Dell. The venue was named for the natural cavity that it was built on as opposed to the shape of the structure itself. Current residents include the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, who play regularly against the background of the Hollywood hills and the Hollywood sign.

Known for its unique shape, consisting of several concentric arches, many believe that the venue served as inspiration for the backdrop for Porky Pig where he states “Th-th-that’s all Folks.” The bowl has been known to have made appearances in several Warner Brothers cartoons, such as in DePatie-Feleng Pink Panther and Tom and Jerry in Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl. Bette Midler was also seen performing at the bowl in the 1988 movie, Beaches.

New Tour Date Possibility - Canadian Music Festival

2008-02-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

Organizer of Pemberton event ‘confident’; Petty, Coldplay among possible acts for ’08

By Reporter
Jennifer Miller
jmiller@whistlerquestion.com

Shane Bourbonnais is keeping his calendar clear for the end of July because there’s a good chance he’ll be hosting musicians such as Tom Petty and members of Coldplay in Pemberton during a three-day music festival.

Bourbonnais is president of touring and business development for Live Nation, the largest producer of concerts worldwide, and every year in July he takes a fishing trip to Langara Island. But as of Monday (Feb. 25) he hadn’t sent his registration in for the 2008 trip because — pending one key approval — he’ll likely be busy during that time with a European-style music festival in his hometown of Pemberton.

“I feel confident that we’re going to get the news we’re looking for and build an incredible event,” Bourbonnais said. “We’ve just got this one last approval that we need and if that one comes favourably we’ll be coming to Pemberton… this summer.”

Next week, Bourbonnais will attend a meeting to discuss the final approval needed to announce firm dates and a location for a festival this summer, and Bourbonnais said he hopes to be able to make an announcement in the next two weeks that the festival is a go.

He declined to provide specific information about the approval that’s needed.

“We’re starting to plan that we’re producing the festival,” he said. “It will be incredible.”
When the potential for a music festival in Pemberton was first made public last October, Coldplay was named as a possible headliner. Bourbonnais said this week that Coldplay is “still online” and Tom Petty is seriously considering coming.

“Hopefully he’s still available when we get the approval,” he said. “But we feel good that even if it’s not those acts, we’ll have big enough acts.”

He said summer 2008 is set to be one of the best seasons in the past five years for big-name bands and artists that are planning tours.

Live Nation is looking to put together a three-day European-style music festival complete with on-site camping, multiple stages, vendors, concessions and “a real, true festival spirit,” Bourbonnais said.

If the key approval comes through, there is still a lot of work to do to make the festival a reality this year. Multiple permits must be received and further dialogue must take place with the Ministry of Transportation on highway travel to and from the festival.

But Bourbonnais said he’s not worried about not having enough time to organize something for this July and that many of the permit processes were initiated as early as last November.

He also said all the bodies Live Nation is working with — RCMP, Squamish Lillooet Regional District, Village of Pemberton, Pemberton Chamber of Commerce and others — have been helpful and cooperative so far. The support from the Pemberton community in general has been “incredible,” he said.

While a festival in 2008 looks promising, Bourbonnais said if something happens to delay the plans, Live Nation will likely continue to pursue a large-scale festival in Pemberton in 2009.
“If there’s a problem, we have all the infrastructure built for ’09,” he said.

Back in October Bourbonnais told The Question that Live Nation was also considering a couple of alternate locations in eastern Canada for a multi-day festival.

He said this week that while the other locations are technically still in the running the necessary support and approvals aren’t falling into place as smoothly as they are in Pemberton.

“We’re heavily favouring the Pemberton site for sure,” Bourbonnais said. “The community has been incredible."

Tom Petty's Los Angeles

2008-02-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

click to enlarge

By DAPHNE CARR - LA Weekly Music

There exists in sound a map of Los Angeles, filled with song-lyric street names, neighborhoods, beaches, bars, empty spaces and spaces between spaces. It's a chart that follows more than 30 years in the life and work of Tom Petty, a longtime resident of the city and an undercelebrated rock & roll icon who finally appears to be getting his due.

In 1974, Petty drove cross-country from Gainesville, Florida, to Los Angeles to get a record contract. Knocking on doors along Sunset, he played demos and eventually got a deal for his first band, Mudcrutch, then moved the group to L.A. "We fell in love with L.A. within an hour of being there," Petty told author Paul Zollo in the 2005 book Conversations With Tom Petty (CWTP). "We just thought this is heaven. We said, 'Look — everywhere there's people making a living playing music. This is the place.'" In 1976, the first Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album hit, and aside from touring with the band, he's never left town. His songs are indelibly linked with the cityscape, sometimes explicitly but more often in hints — that rare ability of a gifted lyricist to generalize the intimate.

Last October saw the release of Peter Bogdanovich's four-and-a-half-hour documentary on the band, Runnin' Down a Dream. The director, who was unfamiliar with Petty's music prior to the project, called it "the story of a great American band, a great American story." In November, Chronicle Books released an oversize coffee-table book based on the film, also titled Runnin' Down a Dream (RDAD). And Petty's slated to perform during halftime at this year's Super Bowl (February 3). He co-produced the film and book, and one thing striking in both is the relative timelessness and placelessness of Petty's public life — he consciously avoids personal details while focusing on the particulars of songwriting, recording and touring. Which seems odd, since songs like "Free Fallin'" and "Into the Great Wide Open" offer a specific vision of the city, one that unfolded for a generation. Here is a map of that L.A., gathered from evidence the songwriter has left behind.

1. Sunset Boulevard. Imagine Petty driving up in a van full of Florida stoners onto Sunset Boulevard in 1974, cruising for labels. "You just saw them down the road. So we would just go in the front door of every one with a tape and say, 'Hi, we just got here from Florida, can we play you this tape?'" (CWTP) Later, in "Waiting for Tonight," the mystique had worn off a bit. In the song, he sings, "I went walking down the boulevard/Past the skateboards and the beggars/I was out looking in the windows/Just out walking, letting my mind roam."

2. Ben Frank's. This moderne diner is the site of an apocryphal tale in which the Florida bumpkin Petty walked outside into a phone booth and found a piece of paper with the addresses and phone numbers of all the city's record companies, including his first label, Shelter Records. The place is now Mel's Diner, but it retains its trademark midcentury design. 8585 W. Sunset Blvd.

3. The Sunset Strip. The Strip is the center of Petty's musical L.A., a place where kids with dreams go to try their luck. Petty exposes the naivetÃ© and cynicism of this myth in "Into the Great Wide Open" through the rise and fall of the song's main character, Eddie. For instance, Eddie heads to a Strip tattoo parlor to symbolize his rebellion, only to find a girl "with a tattoo too."

4. Shelter Records Office. The Shelter office was in Hollywood, and by the time of the first Heartbreakers album, producer/co-owner Denny Cordell had moved their studio next door. The label office was the band's hangout. In RDAD, Cordell said "Musicians that had worked with them on this or that project would just drop in." In the evenings, Petty would go to the Shelter offices, and he and Cordell would play records of great songwriters, learning to pick out good songwriting from bad.

5. Hollywood Premiere Motel. Petty and the boys sold all their possessions in Florida and drove back out to L.A. Shelter Records put them up first at this motel, which, Petty remembered, "was really a hooker place." (CWTP) It's got a great neon sign at least. 5333 Hollywood Blvd.

6. Canoga Park. The residences rented for Mudcrutch were in Canoga Park. With no furniture in sight, Petty thought himself a king nonetheless. "We brought all the girls and dogs and everything. This was heavy shit, man. A house with a swimming pool." (CWTP)

7. Travelodge Hotel. Petty lived at the Travelodge with his wife while recording the first album. His daughter was born just after they moved to L.A., and while living at the hotel they put her in a drawer as a crib. 1401 N. Vermont Ave.

8. The Winona. Another "hooker" motel Petty slept in during the early days. It was right across the street from Shelter. Label co-owner Leon Russell would come there to pick Petty up in his Rolls-Royce. 5131 Hollywood Blvd.

9. The Alley. The Alley is a North Hollywood rehearsal studio where Mudcrutch met in the early days. A Mudcrutch-era song, "Don't Do Me Like That," was recorded there for Damn the Torpedoes. The phrase "don't do me like that" came from Petty's dad; Petty always thought it sounded funny and Southern. This is pretty much the nicest thing he ever said about his abusive father, who disrespected his son's musical talents until he was famous. Then Petty bought him a Cadillac. 5066 Lankershim Blvd.

10. Village Recorder. Shelter dropped Mudcrutch but kept Petty for a solo deal, leaving his Florida mates in the lurch. Mudcrutch keyboardist Benmont Tench put together a new band and began rehearsing them at the Village Recorder. Petty came in one day to play harmonica and heard Tench playing keys with Mike Campbell (guitar), Ron Blair (bass), Stan Lynch (drums) and Randall Marsh (drums), and thought, "I have to steal this band." And he did, calling them the Heartbreakers. 1616 Butler Ave.

11. London, U.K., in the late '70s, during the new wave. While the band's self-titled first album was "stillborn" upon U.S. release in 1976, it was an enormous success immediately in the U.K. "From the moment we got off the plane, there were journalists to meet us, photographers taking our photos. This was big time for us." (RDAD) Petty's short power-pop songs, tight jeans and skinny shirts lent him a new-wave air, and his androgynous look remained remarkably similar throughout his career. The band returned to L.A. and went back to taking out their trash, waiting for the break.

12. Whisky A Go Go. The Whisky was the site of TP and the Heartbreakers' first string of successful L.A. shows. Petty credits Robert Hilburn of the L.A. Times with changing the city's attitude about the band. "He'd actually written about the album prior to that and given it a so-so review. Then he wrote a second one saying that he was wrong, that our record is actually really great. Then he did an interview with me, a nice piece. That got us a weeklong stand at the Whisky." (RDAD) 8901 Sunset Blvd.

13. Sound City. In 1978, Petty moved to Sound City studios to make a "big" sounding album, Damn the Torpedoes, with Jimmy Iovine as producer. The drums on "Refugee"— huge, booming, radio friendly — have become a studio a/b mixing standard and one of the many points of contention about the band's work with Iovine. Iovine has stated that he hates all drummers but really, really didn't like the Heartbreakers' Stan Lynch. 1391 Westwood Ave.

14. MCA Records. Petty's hatred of the record industry started with a bad faith gesture by MCA in 1978. The band was signed to Shelter Records but distributed by ABC, and when ABC sold the band's contract to MCA, Petty wanted out. The legal battle that followed was a "Mexican standoff" for six months, including a California tour where the band wore shirts reading "Why MCA?" Eventually they got their own label, Backstreet Records, and regained their publishing rights. Later, MCA used the band to raise the general LP price by a dollar, prompting Petty to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone ripping one up.

15. Century City. From the song "Century City." During the recording of Damn the Torpedoes, Petty hid his master tapes from MCA Records by night and fought the label's lawyers in Century City by day. He had few kind things to say about the place. "It's kind of an acre of skyscrapers, a really modern-looking place. It's full of lawyers. And they take you up to big glass conference rooms — I dreaded going there." (CWTP)

16. "FM radio" and "The freeway." Radioland is a palpable place in Tom Petty's L.A. — a place of good times, a place in the past. "American Girl" broke on KROQ as part of L.A.'s new wave. Petty played in the little-known 1978 film FM, about a fictional renegade L.A. station, Q-Sky, and he fondly remembers sitting in his den tuning in multiple stations playing his hits during the '80s. Elvis Costello admits to stealing a hook from Petty for his own "Radio, Radio," and this spirit of the radio past features prominently in Petty's own songs, not to mention his 2002 concept album The Last DJ. Petty now has his own station on XM, called Buried Treasure.

17. Cello Studios. Petty recorded parts of The Last DJ at this studio. A morality play about the music business, the album focused on Petty's nostalgia for radio and the record industry's past. Ironically, Petty has felt this way about the industry since the 1970s but is probably one of its biggest remaining sure things. 6000 Sunset Blvd.

18. The Smog. Alongside the intangible/in-between places of the highway and the radio, Tom Petty's L.A. is full of sky, and that sky is full of 1980s smog — something to be cynical about for sure, but Petty has a Floridian's love of the L.A. sunset, which the smog only makes better. On "All or Nothin'" (from 1991's Into the Great Wide Open) he sings, "Sweet chariots of L.A. swing low/At twilight time the smog makes a rainbow."

19. The 101 Freeway. Petty stared out at the 101 while staying at label-boss Leon Russell's house in Encino. In "American Girl," Petty imagined it as the highway of his hometown, the 441 in Gainesville, and placed a woman as the urban poet: "It was kind of cold that night/She stood alone on her balcony/She could hear the cars roll by out on 441 like waves crashin' in the beach." One of the band's best songs, it contains the perfect Petty formula of Americana nostalgia, narrative, the open road and a bittersweet realization sung against a great pop hook. "God it's so painful/Something that's so close/and still so far out of reach."

20. Mulholland Drive. "I wanna glide down over Mulholland/I wanna write her name in the sky," Petty sings in the final verse of "Free Fallin'" (from 1990's Full Moon Fever, a Petty solo record). Is it any coincidence that Petty's world-weary voice makes the name of that place sound like "Valhalla"? In the video for the song, skateboarder Mark "Gator" Rogowski gets air just at this line on a ramp constructed between Laurel Canyon and Outpost.

21. Reseda. The video for "Free Fallin'" shows a 1950s-seeming, white, middle-class family living out the American dream in 1980s Reseda, a wry commentary that made the song an anthem for the "good girls" growing up there (and other cookie-cutter 'burbs) at the time. A mom throws a party for her disenchanted teenage daughter, who seems to have gotten dumped by Petty's narrator, a former good boy gone bad. After witnessing some old-fashioned sexual harassment among the wild ones at the hot dog stand, the good girl decides to freefall into a half-pipe set up on Mulholland Drive and leave the suburbs behind. (Beats going to the Galleria, where Petty filmed the escalator scenes.)

22. Vampires on Ventura Boulevard. A moment of out-of-towner cynicism, Petty's invocation of vampires on Ventura has less a monster-movie feel than that of the everyday slow-draining suck of sameness. Petty told Paul Zollo that the label didn't think "Free Fallin'" would be a single. "They didn't think anyone outside Southern California would relate to it." (CWTP) Little did they know, vampires lurk in every town.

23. Rose Bowl. In 1982, Tom Petty played at "Peace Sunday: We Had a Dream" at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. More than 85,000 attended this rally and concert, which was held in support of the Second Special Session of the United Nations on Disarmament. Later, Petty was inspired to write lyrics in response to Bush I's Gulf War on "Learning to Fly": "Well the good old days may not return/And the rocks might melt, and the sea may burn." Even though it seemed his populist politics shifted the other way when he performed "I Won't Back Down" during a 9/11 tribute, he has become an outspoken critic of the current war.

24. East L.A. Within 24 hours of the breakout of the L.A. riots in 1992, Petty had recorded "Peace in L.A." and had it played on the radio, with all proceeds going to charities in East L.A. The working-class whiteness of Petty's lyrics and his trad-white-rocker pedigree make him seem like something of an anachronism in the current moment, but in Conversations With Tom Petty he reveals that he is one-quarter Cherokee and that his grandparents, poor migrant farmers, experienced violence and racism because of his paternal grandmother's heritage.

25. Viper Room. Johnny Depp played rebel rocker Eddie in the 1991 video for "Into the Great Wide Open," and Petty returned the favor in 1993 by playing the inaugural charity opening for Depp's Viper Room. Around this time, Petty and Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch had a falling-out. Lynch was told that if he didn't show at the Viper, Petty would ask Ringo to fill in. Lynch showed but left the band soon after. 8852 W. Sunset Blvd.

26. LAX. Flying overhead, landing, watching the world below — the generic tropes of lonely contemplation for a road-weary rock star. Somehow Petty's voice contains the mental and physical exhaustion of many trips to and from. In "Straight Into Darkness" (Long After Dark, 1982), he sings, "I remember flying out to London/I remember the feeling at the time/Out the window of the 747/Man there was nothin', only black sky."

27. Dave Stewart's house in Encino. Stewart, the eccentric Eurythmics front man, worked with Petty for the psychedelic track "Don't Come Around Here No More" (Southern Accents, 1985). Petty convinced Stewart to buy a place in Encino, and the two had wild parties where Stewart and Petty would wear their custom rhinestone cowboy outfits.

28. Sunset Sound. This is where the backing vocals were recorded for "Don't Come Around Here No More." Stevie Nicks booked backup singers for a session there but didn't show up, so Petty and Stewart put them on their song instead. Nicks was a longtime friend of the band and even asked to join them at one time — to which Petty responded: "There aren't any girls in the Heartbreakers. You can be our friend but you can't be in the band." (CWTP) 6650 Sunset Blvd.

29. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. In 1984, Petty was rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital after shattering his left hand. He had literally punched a wall in frustration over the recording of the song "Rebels." It would take months for him to recoup his playing ability. Paul Zollo asked of Petty's wild era: "You said you were doing a lot of cocaine. Did that affect your songwriting?""No. I think it affected my breaking my hand."8635 W. Third St.

30. Universal Amphitheater (now the Gibson). Bob Dylan played a week of shows at the Universal Amphitheater in June 1978 and, in a rare mood, introduced celebrities in the audience, including Tom Petty. Afterward, Petty was invited backstage and later recounted, "That was the first time it really hit me that people knew who we were." (CWTP)

31. Petty's home in Encino. An arsonist burned down this house in 1987. Estimated damage: $800,000. Camera crews were there before the fire department, and friends were coming down the driveway with presents for an afternoon birthday barbecue Petty was having for his wife at the house that day. Nearly everything except his precious Dove guitar burned in this fire. "It frightened me so bad. I wouldn't even use the word 'fire' in a song or anything." (CWTP)

32. Charo's house in Beverly Hills. Petty's family lived in the house of the former wife of Xavier Cugat, Charo, while rebuilding his house after the fire. On Thanksgiving, Petty drove to the Sav-On in Beverly Hills to pick up some baseball mitts for a game he wanted to have, and Jeff Lynne — the producer, former ELO member and future Traveling Wilbury — pulled up beside him at a red light. Thus began their working relationship.

33. Le Seur. While out Christmas shopping with his daughter Adria, Petty stopped in for lunch and was asked to go to a private dining room, where he met George Harrison, who was dining with Jeff Lynne. This was another step toward the formation of the Traveling Wilburys.
34. Beverly Hills mansion designed by Wallace Neff. Nicknamed "Wilbury Manor," this 1920s Spanish-style residence was the recording home for the second Traveling Wilburys album in 1990. Most of it was recorded in the library, on equipment borrowed from Herb Alpert of A&M. Petty prefers recording in homes or even garages to being in the studio.
35. Pacific Palisades "Chicken Shack." Petty described his late-1990s divorce house as a cabin where daylight streamed through cracks, the yard was overgrown and full of chickens and an 8-track studio sat in the back bedroom — the perfect bachelor pad. She's the One was recorded there.

36. House of Blues. In the late 1990s, Petty and the Heartbreakers backed up Johnny Cash at the House of Blues. His marriage dissolving, Petty was astonished to see a woman at the show he'd admired years earlier. Now the "love of his life," Dana inspired the song "Angel Dream," written while he was still healing from his divorce and living at the Chicken Shack. Tom and Dana were married in Vegas but had another ceremony in L.A., officiated by Little Richard. 8430 W. Sunset Blvd.

37. McCabe's Guitar Shop. This was the site of the memorial service for bassist Howie Epstein after his death in 2003. Petty stole Epstein from Del Shannon's band after Ron Blair quit and always referred to him as "the cool one" in the Heartbreakers. For the service, Petty had Native Americans come and bless the room. 3101 Pico Blvd.

38. Malibu. Our hero's current residence. Petty now lives there with his second wife, Dana, and her two sons. He has two daughters from his first marriage. His first daughter, Adria, is the band's de facto art director, working on video, Web design and the Runnin' Down a Dream book project. She probably no longer has to sleep in a drawer.

http://www.gonegator.com

Encore Screening of Runnin' Down A Dream Nationwide March 3rd

2008-02-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

ExclusiveTom Petty and the Heartbreakers Documentary Presented by The Bigger Picture, an AccessIT Company, on Digital Cinema Movie Screens Nationwide

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Runnin’ Down a Dream on the Big Screen is Being Distributed by AEG Network LIVE for Digital Cinema and Other Outlets

MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers announced today that they will bring Peter Bogdanovich’s Runnin’ Down a Dream to theatre screens across the country for an exclusive, one night-only encore engagement on Monday, March 3, courtesy of The Bigger Picture, the alternative content distribution division of Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. ("AccessIT") (NASDAQ:AIXD).

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rocked the University of Phoenix Super Bowl XLII and the world responded. Sales of their catalog experienced an unprecedented surge and summer tour dates were added to fulfill demand as dates sold out within hours in many markets. Now Peter Bogdanovich’s documentary film Runnin’ Down a Dream will be brought back to theatres nationwide in thirty markets for an encore performance on March 3.

Runnin’ Down a Dream, which premiered to glowing reviews at the New York Film Festival last October 2007 and was released exclusively at Best Buy as a 4 disc box set, saw a 350% increase in sales last week. Now it will be released on the big screen for the second time in less than six months.

Petty fans who attend this special event on March 3rd in theatres will be eligible to win a pair of front row seats to the live show when the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tour comes to each participating town. For more information about how to be eligible for this special opportunity, log on to www.thebiggerpicture.us/TomPetty.

Directed by cinema legend Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show), Runnin’ Down a Dream brings Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers full circle, from their humble Gainesville, Florida beginnings to their emotional hometown 30th Anniversary concert. The movie is a vivid account of a band that created a body of work considered one the richest catalogs in American musical history.

Following its premiere at the 2007 New York Film Festival and nationwide screenings last October, Runnin’ Down a Dream was hailed by fans and critics alike for its entertaining and sophisticated look at the entire over-three-decade career of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Houston Chronicle wrote that the movie is “destined to be a classic” and The New York Daily News described Runnin’ Down a Dream as “a godsend for music lovers.”

Just like they rocked the house during the Super Bowl half-time show, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will have fans dancing and singing along with them during the digital cinema release of this definitive movie,” said Jonathan Dern, President of The Bigger Picture. “And in the theatre, excellent sightlines, camera angles and sound will have every fan feeling like he or she has a front row seat to the show.”

”We are proud to be a part of this incredible project and to bring this movie back to theatres for this very special encore presentation,” said John Rubey, President of AEG Network LIVE. “Fans will come together, celebrate and experience this definitive rock and roll documentary on the big screen with incredible 7.1 surround in selected digital cinema theatres, as they look forward to the upcoming tour dates.”

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 2008 tour begins May 30th in Grand Rapids, MI and continues throughout the summer. For more information go to http://www.gonegator.com/.

Runnin’ Down a Dream, two years in the making, features extensive interviews conducted by Bogdanovich with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and with fellow musicians and numerous friends and collaborators past and present. Participants include Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Jackson Browne, Roger McGuinn, Dave Stewart, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Jimmy Iovine, and Johnny Depp. There is also extensive rare footage, much of which has never been seen before. In addition, the movie includes footage from Petty’s days with his Traveling Wilburys bandmates, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison.

The Bigger Picture is a leader in the digital distribution of movies targeted to specific audiences. The programs include Opera, Kidtoons, G-rated movies for kids on the weekends, anime movies for teen and college audiences, music and inspirational faith-based movies. The Bigger Picture has released 40+ movies digitally. For more information, visit www.thebiggerpicture.us and www.kidtoonfilms.com. The company is a subsidiary of Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. (AccessIT), the industry leader in providing fully integrated software and services to enable the motion picture entertainment industry and all of its constituents to transition from film to digital cinema. Access Integrated Technologies® and AccessITTM are trademarks of Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. For more information on AccessIT, visit www.accessitx.com. [AIXD-G]

About AEG Network LIVE
AEG Network LIVE is the division of AEG LIVE responsible for creating, marketing and distributing digital programming on broadband, cinema, wireless, television, DVD and other platforms worldwide.

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS released their debut album in 1976. Since that time they have sold more than 50 million records and remain one of the biggest touring bands in the world. Despite the scale of their success and the creative range of their work, the Heartbreakers maintain a reputation as a hard working rock-and-roll band, always true to the music’s original inspiration. Between the Heartbreakers’ recordings and his solo work, Tom Petty has received 18 Grammy nominations. Honored with lifetime achievement awards including Billboard’s Century Award, MTV’s Video Vanguard Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tom Petty, with the Heartbreakers at his side, has achieved the status of legend in the hearts of listeners worldwide.

For more information on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, their upcoming tour, and the Highway Companions Fan Club and Theatres screening the movie Runnin’ Down a Dream please visit http://www.gonegator.com/. Information on movie screenings can also be found at www.thebiggerpicture.us/tompetty.

LISTING OF MOVIE LOCATIONS
Arcangelo Entertainment Emagine 18 Canton, MI
Atlas Theatres Great Lakes Mall 16 Mentor, OH
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike 15 Greensburg, PA
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike 14 Hickory, NC
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike 8 Olean, NY
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike Chapel Hills 15 Colorado Springs, CO
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike Wynnsong 15 Apple Valley, MN
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Coventry 8 Pottstown, PA
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike 15 Raleigh, NC
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. Carmike Royal Palm 20 Bradenton, FL
Cinema Services Pavilion 9 Brooklyn, NY
Dickinson Theatres Gateway 12 Mesa, AZ
Dickinson Theatres Eastglen 16 Lee's Summit, MO
Galaxy Theatres Monroe 12 Monroe, WA
Hollywood Film Buying Livermore Cinemas 13 Livermore, CA
Landmark Theatres Sunshine Cinema New York
Loeks Theatres, Inc. Celebration Cinema North Grand Rapids Muvico
Muvico Rosemount 18 Rosemount, IL
Muvico Paradise 24 Davie, FL
National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Randolph Randolph, MA
National Amusements Fairfax Corner 14 Cinema De Lux Fairfax, VA
National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Buckland Hills Manchester, CT
National Amusements The Bridge Cinema DeLux Los Angeles, CA
Rave Motion Pictures West Chester 18 West Chester, OH
Rave Motion Pictures North East Mall 18 Hurst, TX
Rave Motion Pictures Metropolis 18 Plainfield, IN
Rave Motion Pictures Yorktown 15 Houston, TX
Santikos Theatres Palladium 19 San Antonio, TX
Tri State Theatres Marquee Orchard 10 Toms River, NJ
Wehrenberg Theatres Ronnie's 20 St Louis, MO

The above is a list of theatre locations as of 2/20/08. For updates and additions, please go to www.thebiggerpicture.us/tompetty.

http://www.gonegator.com

Tom Petty 'Free Falls' Into Singles Chart

2008-02-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Score one for the elder statesmen of rock. Thanks to his appearance at the Super Bowl half time show, two weeks ago, Tom Petty is back in the singles charts with an old hit.

The 57-year-old came out of nowhere to land at number 10 on the most downloaded siglges chart with his classic "Free Fallin’," which bested competition and hot singles from Alicia Keys, Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers.

Petty’s was the only real movement on the digital top ten. The week saw Flo Rida featuring T. Pain holding his lead on the number 1 slot with "Low," while Yael Naim’s "New Soul," and Rihanna’s "Don’t Stop The Music," controlled the number 2 and 3 slots respectively.

Miley Cyrus, who currently holds the movie Box office crown with her "Best of Both Worlds" 3-D experience film, stayed steady at number 7 with her cut "See You Again."

Over on the album side, surf-pop singer Jack Johnson took his latest, "Sleep Through The Static," to the top of the Billboard album charts. He outsold his nearest competitor, Sheryl Crow’s new entry, "Detours" by almost 3 to 1.

The always sassy Alicia Keys fell to the number 3 slot with "As I Am," while her fellow New Yorker, Lenny Kravitz nabbed number 4 with "It Is Time For A Love Revolution."
The digital singles top ten were:

1 FLO RIDA FEATURING T-PAIN "Low"
2 YAEL NAIM "New Soul"
3 RIHANNA "Don't Stop The Music"
4 SARA BAREILLES "Love Song"
5 CHRIS BROWN "With You"
6 BUCKCHERRY "Sorry"
7 MILEY CYRUS "See You Again"
8 SEAN KINGSTON "Take You There"
9 TIMBALAND FEATURING ONEREPUBLIC "Apologize"
10 TOM PETTY "Free Fallin'"

http://www.gonegator.com

Tom Petty's tunes stand the test of time

2008-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

By Larry Rodgers Gannett News Service

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have recorded a string of timeless hits rivaled by only a few other elite acts. Petty’s infectious, jangly rock draws fans from their teens to 60s to concerts, and it has landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and brought respect among peers.

“Free Fallin’,” “American Girl,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Breakdown,” “Learning to Fly,” “Refugee” — that quiver full of classics that incite mass sing-alongs in concert made the Grammy-winning singer-guitarist a solid choice to play at Super Bowl XLII on Sunday.

“Tom Petty writes quintessential American rock and roll,” says Howard Kramer, curatorial director for the rock hall of fame in Cleveland.

“His body of work completely stands the test of time.” Making memorable songs that defy musical trends has always been the Florida-spawned group’s priority, says the 57-year-old Petty. “We’ve never sought to be famous personalities or anything like that. We try to make the best songs and best records and do the best shows we can, and we keep it that simple.”

Populist poetry

Petty’s songwriting will never be confused with the weighty observations of Dylan or the clever commentary of Elvis Costello. But it’s some of the most accessible and hummable music of the past three decades.

A mix of populist poetry and catchy tunes emerges in such Petty hits as 1976’s “American Girl.” Amid ringing guitar and shuffling drums, Petty sings: “Well, she was an American girl, raised on promises / She couldn’t help thinking that there was a little more to life somewhere else.”

He’s also got a knack for turning everyday phrases into wide-ranging imagery: “Learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings / Coming down is the hardest thing,” he sings in “Learning to Fly,” used in the movie “Elizabethtown.”

“I’m always on the lookout for a good line,” says Petty, who keeps a notebook within reach at all times. “If you make it your business to do that, you’ll hear really nice bits of conversation or a line will come off the television or radio.”

A number of Petty songs have become anthems, including the defiant “I Won’t Back Down,” which generated mail and comments from fans who say the song gave them strength in tough times.
“When (a song) really mattered and really made a difference in people’s lives, that’s more than you could ever hope for as repayment,” say Petty, who lives in Malibu, Calif.

Longtime fans have watched the Heartbreakers’ style season as they’ve moved into middle age.
“He and that band have such a history of songs that lock people into certain periods in their lives, and they’ve been doing this for 30 years now,” says George Taylor Morris, a programming executive for XM Radio, which includes Petty’s “Buried Treasure” show in its lineup.

Petty, who plans a 37-date Heartbreakers tour in the summer, thinks the key to appealing to both longtime and younger fans is good songs, rather than laser shows and pyrotechnics.

“We never went in for gimmicks or making a record that sounded like the ’80s or anything,” he says. “We’re just a basic group of guitars, drums, piano and organ, and I think the truth is with the songs. We’ve always put a lot of stock in songs, so if you’ve got good songs, they tend to stick around.”

And what a bunch of songs this group has churned out since its self-titled debut. Add “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “The Waiting,” “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “You Wreck Me” to the list of Petty classics that have fueled 50 million album sales.

Tales to tell

Petty also has written some of rock’s great storytelling songs.

Tales of tattooed lovers trying to make it in Hollywood (“Into the Great Wide Open”), a woman’s ill-fated move west from Indiana (“Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” with its haunting video starring a “dead” Kim Basinger) and a rebellious hitchhiker (“Swingin’”) dot Petty’s catalog.

“I always try to ... become that character and think the way that character would talk and how they would react and what they would be looking for; what makes them who they are,” Petty says.

http://www.gonegator.com

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers to Rock Super Bowl Halftime Show

2008-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

By Parke Brewer
Phoenix, Arizona

In recent years, the halftime show has seen the likes of The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Prince. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are considered one of the America's great rock and roll bands and they are already members of Rock and Roll's Hall of Fame.

The group is still going strong after releasing its debut album back in 1976 and has sold more than 50 million records. And the band members took this occasion to announce they will tour the United States and Canada in the upcoming months. Petty said it did not take long for he and his bandmates to say yes when they were invited to be the Super Bowl halftime musical performers.

"It's mind-blowing [awesome]," Petty said. "It's something that I never even dreamed of. It never crossed my mind, but it's very exciting. We've had quite a week already. It's really something."

Organizers say 56 carts of equipment must be hauled onto the field to put on the Super Bowl halftime show, and without some three thousand local volunteers, it could not be done.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will get to play for 12 minutes. Petty said it was really hard to select what songs from the band's lengthy career to perform.

"We tried to pick the ones that would take you somewhere in that amount of time," he explained. "It's a little bit of a challenge and we've had to kind of rearrange some things, make some a little bit shorter to fit in. But I think we've chosen a good set."

http://www.gonegator.com

Happy Birthday Mike Campbell!!!

2008-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the greatest guitarist in Rock 'N Roll! Mike turns 58 today. Born in Panama City, Florida, February 1, 1950. There's just something about Mike's playing that I've always admired, respected and strived to show other guitarists. Remember in th 80s when all the Heavy Metal guitarists were playing as many notes as humanly possible in the least amount of time? Mike Campbell can pick up a guitar and tell them all to f#$k off in 10 notes or less. Actually, I guess he has. On stage he's a humble guy who steals the show without stealin' the show. I just know I'd be embarassed to look at a guitar, yet alone pick one up anywhere near him.

Happy Birthday Mike and Thanks!

http://www.gonegator.com

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers announce 2008 Tour

2008-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS LAUNCH MAJOR SUMMER TOUR ACROSS THE U.S. AND CANADA

TICKETS GO ON SALE FEBRUARY 4 FOLLOWING THE GROUP¹S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SUPER BOWL XLII HALFTIME SHOW

HIGHWAY COMPANIONS CLUB MEMBERSGET ACCESS TO PRESALE TICKETS

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS announce an upcoming summer tour that will take the band through the U.S. and Canada. The news comes as the Heartbreakers prepare for the biggest show in live entertainment, the SUPER BOWL XLII HALFTIME SHOW, broadcast live on FOX Sunday, February 3. All tour tickets, with a few exceptions (see below) will go on sale February 4th, the day after the Super Bowl festivities. Watched by nearly 140 million people in the U.S. and one billion in 230 countries and territories worldwide, the Halftime Show will give the world a preview of the legendary live act that will storm the U.S. and Canada in a few short months. This summer tour continues Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' tradition of great musical packages, with legend Steve Winwood opening every show. For more information, people can go to tompetty.com or simply pick up tickets at gonegator.com.

HIGHWAY COMPANIONS CLUB PRESALE, TICKET PACKAGES Tickets for the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' 2008 North American Tour go on sale soon, but fans will be able to jump to the front of the line and purchase tickets before the general public.
2008 TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS TOURWITH VERY SPECIAL GUEST STEVE WINWOOD

May 30- Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
May 31- The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
June 03- Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
June 05- Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
June 08- Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
June 10- Post-Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
June 11- New England Dodge Music Center, Hartford, CT
June 13- TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA
June 17- Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
June 18- Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
June 21- Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, NY
June 22- Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
June 25- Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA
July 02- United Center, Chicago, IL
July 03- Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN
July 08- Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
July 09- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Atlanta, GA ****
July 11- Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC
July 12- Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, Raleigh, NC
July 15- BankAtlantic Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
July 16- St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
July 19- TBD, Denver, CO ****
July 20- Quest Center Omaha, Omaha, NE
July 22- Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
July 23- Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
August 07- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO
August 09- MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MBAugust 11- Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, ABAugust 12- Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
August 15- The Gorge, George, WA
August 16- The Gorge, George, WA
August 20- Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, AZ ****
August 22- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
August 23- TBD, San Francisco, CA ****
August 26- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Selma, TX
August 27- American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
August 29- Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Woodlands, TX

http://www.gonegator.com

Are You Serious?!?!? Sirius and XM Merger

2007-02-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

Fred Mills

It may have sent shudders down the backs of music fans who already feel the industry is over-monopolized, but yesterday’s announcement that satellite radio stations XM and Sirius would be joining forces in what market analysts are calling a record $13 billion merger was reason to cheer for others—and we’re not talking about stockholders or investors.

Think about it: You’re pondering the purchase of a satellite radio set-up, and it would be ridiculous to buy two subscriptions. But on the one hand, while you’re way into the idea of, say, Little Steven’s must-hear “Underground Garage,” Marky Ramone’s “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg” and “Outlaw Country” which features segments from Mojo Nixon, Shooter Jennings and Cowboy Jack Clement (all on Sirius—which, oh yeah, also has Howard Stern and Martha Stewart), on the other hand, you’ve also been hankering to listen to Tom Petty’s “Buried Treasure,” Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour” and the members of Rancid’s “Rancid Radio” (all exclusively on XM).

Sob! What’s a poor, music-loving schmuck gonna do! (Well, there’s such a thing as making your own mixtapes… but we digress.) So a one-size-fits-all single subscription sounds like just the ticket.

In theory, then, the XM and Sirius merger would mean that with one sub, you’d get the best of both worlds, and talking heads are already predicting the expensive bidding wars for broadcast talent between the two companies will come to an end, yielding exactly that win-win scenario. Of course, the term “be careful what you wish for,” when applied to the entertainment industry, is always applicable, so only time will tell whether or not the consumer will truly be the winner here. With both XM and Sirius under one roof, and with no challengers to their broadcast-market hegemony, can ever-higher subscription rates be far behind?

All that aside, the point(s) may become moot if federal regulators don’t approve the merger. Currently, laws are in place prohibiting the two to combine, and a statement from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) was issued expressing shock if regulators did approve of the merger. Most experts agree that it will depend on how the FCC ultimately views the broadcast industry as a whole: if it’s deemed that the Internet (as well as digital music players such as the iPod) provides a reasonable amount of “competition” to the satellite broadcasters, the approval is likely; but if the prevailing view is that XM and Sirius are each other’s sole competition, then it probably won’t pass.

Both the Washington, DC-based XM and the New York City-based Sirius indicated they are confident that the merger will go through. No word yet on what the company would be called. Xirius, maybe?

Noted the NAB, "When the FCC authorized satellite radio, it specifically found that the public would be served best by two competitive, nationwide systems. Now, with their stock prices at rock bottom and their business model in disarray because of profligate spending practices, they seek a government bailout to avoid competing in the marketplace."

Government bailout? Hey, it’s the American way! Details at 11. Meanwhile, why not support your local NPR affiliate or community radio station with a donation. Tell ‘em HARP sent ya.

Traveling Wilburys

2007-02-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Fox News

The Traveling Wilburys are back. The famed supergroup’s CDs have been out of print. But I’m told that Rhino Records has won the contract, and the Wilburys’ catalogue should reappear on or around June 1.

Tom Petty to release live album in November

2007-02-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

The Rock Radio OnlineIf all goes well, the long-awaited live album from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers will be out late this year. Petty's talked about releasing a tour document for a while now, and he told Rolling Stone magazine, "We've been working on (it) since before the (2006) tour started. (Lead guitarist) Mike Campbell is producing it. They've played me six or seven things that were really stunning that they already finished. I think (the album) is scheduled for November."

Petty also said his next album would be with the Heartbreakers, though he hasn't written anything for it yet, so there's no timetable.

In addition, Petty will be represented visually late this year when the Heartbreakers documentary from director Peter Bogdanovich is released. Petty said, "It looks pretty great. I think he's mostly based it around the concert we did in Gainesville (Florida) in September. It sort of goes into flashbacks, with lots of archival footage, and then just keeps coming back to the present, whether it's the rehearsals or on the airplane or at the concert in Gainesville."

Damn The Torpedoes - The Broken West don't sweat the petty stuff

2007-02-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Great goal for a new band to have... GREAT quote! Here's how The Broken West see their band.

"We wanna be like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. That's the model. You wanna have the great writer, the great songs, the solid rhythm section, the great lead guitarist that can take you in a hundred different directions so you don't sound like Wolfmother. . . . I don't wanna be the fuckin' Velvet Underground, where you put out three or four records and then the band breaks up, never gets back together, and you never even get paid for those records—all you get is a lifetime of other bands ripping you off. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, that's where it's at. They've been around for, like, 30 years, have all these great songs, keep putting out great songs, are humble, and are still a killer live band. That's what we wanna be when we grow up."

Click here for full article

The Larry Sanders Show

2007-02-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Not Just The Press Release

The DVD Set Also Includes 23 Classic Episodes of the Emmy Award-Winning TV Program, the Documentary - "The Making of The Larry Sanders Show" - and Features Guest Appearances by Jason Alexander, Warren Beatty, Jim Carrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Sean Penn, Vince Vaughn and More

The Four-Disc DVD Collection Debuts on April 17

Culver City, Ca (February 5, 2007) - Forget about the 23 featured episodes of the Emmy Award®-winning "The Larry Sanders Show" (it received a whopping 56 Emmy nominations during its run on HBO). NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW contains more than eight hours of newly produced material that makes this not just your usual DVD - not even close! The four-disc DVD boxed set debuts on DVD on April 17 at the suggested retail price of $49.95. This innovative, provocative and hugely entertaining release includes personal, intimate, indulgent visits meant until now for only Garry Shandling to see - raw, real-life situations between Shandling and stars who appear in the featured episodes - including Alec Baldwin, Tom Petty, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Sharon Stone and many others. These unrehearsed visits surpass even the Larry Sanders reality, as they once again explore the core ingredients of the ground-breaking program - unexpected human behavior, truth and humor.

The DVD includes the documentary, The Making of The Larry Sanders Show, which reveals an in-depth and surprising look at the process of turning a script into a show that was ahead of its time. The Los Angeles Times selected Garry Shandling‚s series as one of ten TV programs that had Œinarguable influence‚ on the industry and this DVD is a celebration of the series‚ unique place in entertainment lore. NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW also features guest appearances on the featured episodes by a wide slate of stars which includes Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn, Warren Beatty, Sean Penn, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Alexander, Carol Burnett and Winona Ryder. The featurette "Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor Visit Garry Shandling in His Living Room" is a reunion of Shandling, Torn and Tambor discussing working together on the show. Also included are interview featurettes with cast members Penny Johnson, Wallace Langham, Scott Thompson, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Piven, Bob Odenkirk, and Linda Doucett.

The Larry Sanders Show debuted on HBO August 1, 1992, and was ahead of its time, becoming an immediate critical and audience hit for its satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at Hollywood. The series that combined documentary-like camerawork with a clever blend of fact and fiction set the standard of quality for HBO and influenced the development of shows like Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office.Over the course of its six-year, 89-episode run, the series was nominated for 56 Emmy Awards [winning three: Outstanding Writing (Shandling & Peter Tolan); Outstanding Directing (Todd Holland); Outstanding Supporting Actor (Rip Torn)]. The show also won three Golden Globe® nominations, two Peabody Awards, and five CableACE Awards for Best Comedy Series.

Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show episodes include:
What Have You Done for Me Lately?
The Spider Episode
The Hey Now Episode
The List
The Hankerciser 200
Life Behind Larry
The Mr. Sharon Stone Show
Hank's Night in the Sun
Office Romance
Hank's Divorce
Hank's Sex Tape
I Was a Teenage Lesbian
Larry's New Love
Everybody Loves Larry
My Name Is Asher Kingsley
Ellen, or Isn't She?
Pilots and Pens Lost
Another List
The Beginning of the End
Adolph Hankler
The Interview
Putting the Gay‚ Back in Litigation

Flip (1-hour) DVD Special Features Include:
Documentary: The Making of The Larry Sanders Show
Featurette: Trio
Exclusive Interviews: Personal, Intimate, Indulgent Meetings With My Friends That Are Meant Only for Me to See - Interviews with:
Alec Baldwin
Ellen DeGeneres
David Duchovny
Tom Petty
Jerry Seinfeld
Sharon Stone
Jon Stewart
Carol Burnett
Featurette: Interview with Penny Johnson
Featurette: Interview with Wallace Langham
Featurette: Interview with Scott Thompson
Featurette: Interview with Janeane Garofalo
Featurette: Interview with Mary Lynn Rajskub
Featurette: Interview with Sarah Silverman
Featurette: Interview with Jeremy Piven
Featurette: Interview with Bob Odenkirk
Featurette: Interview with Linda Doucett
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Alternate Takes

Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on What Have You Done for Me Lately with Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan

Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on Hank‚s Night in the Sun with Garry Shandling and Todd Holland

Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on Putting the ŒGay‚ Back in Litigation with Garry Shandling and Judd Apatow

Audio Commentary on Flip with Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan
Digitally Remastered Audio and Video
Full Screen Presentations
Audio: English (Dolby Surround)
Subtitles: Spanish
Closed Captioned Broadcast Years: 1992 - 1998

Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show has a run time of approximately 660 minutes and is not rated. For more information on the project, visit www.thelarrysandersdvd.com. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.
DVD Catalog # 10296UPC Code: 0-43396-10296-5SLP: $49.95

Happy Birthday Mike Campbell

2007-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the greatest guitarist in Rock 'N Roll! Mike turns 57 today. Born in Panama City, Florida. Just know I'd be embarassed to look at a guitar, yet alone pick one up in his presence.

Happy Birthday Mike!

Highway Companion - A Fan's Review

2007-01-30T07:53:00.000-08:00

I find it ironic that this album is called Highway Companion. I think it should have a warning sticker on the cover. No, not one of the red parental advisory stickers; I think it should have one of those yellow prescription bottle stickers – MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS, do not operate heavy machinery. At least don’t drive late at night with this album playing.

Some may say, “But it’s up for a Grammy for Best Rock Album” – So what? Voting members of NARAS are 90 year old orchestra members who still think Rock ‘N Roll is Satan’s music. Given that, Highway Companion will probably win a Grammy.

What are my credentials? I’ve been buying Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker records since 1979 and I’m a fan. I was actually looking forward to this album coming out with great anticipation, but I was disappointed. I actually held off on writing this for quite sometime because I had hoped it would grow on me. It hasn’t.

Saving Grace – 1st single, 1st song and only rocking song on the album.

Square One – Heard it on the Elizabethtown soundtrack a year ago.

Flirting With Time – Hook Writing 101; lyrically, in the fashion of The Police’s Don’t Stand So Close To Me. But the song lost me with the use of the word Coyote. Too bad radio will never play it.

Down South – Yawn!

Jack – Thank God for Mike Campbell.

Turn This Car Around – Go home and get a better CD to keep in the car! I do like the “I’m goin’ Back” part production which DID NOT come across in the 2005 rare summer performances.

Big Weekend – Who says that? And I don’t have a maid.

Night Driver – Double Yawn!

Damaged By Love – Lyrically fantastic, but very tired of the way too slow tempo of this album.

This Old Town – I like this song.

Ankle Deep – Two great lines – “She didn’t speak for a week, just kinda mumbled”.and “Daddy, you been a Mother to me”, not sure exactly what that means, but it made me laugh.

The Golden Rose – Kill me now.

A note on Jeff Lynne’s production. All the instruments sound like they’re under water, unless it’s a solo. Lyrically, Tom Petty delivers some of his best work. But the music isn’t interesting enough to listen. I miss the ‘f’ it attitude, the anger, angst and rock and roll. This mid tempo stuff has gotta go!

I hear the next Heartbreakers’ album will be a live one. I was lucky enough to hear Gone Gator Radio while it was on and loved the older rare live cuts they played. I miss those older performances, they seemed more heartfelt and less predictable. I can only hope the new live album will highlight some of that.

Goodbye Gone Gator Radio

2007-01-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

It's been fun!For the last nine months I've been DJ'ing, programming and marketing Gone Gator Radio. But Jon Scott and I can no longer afford the $300+ monthly nut.

Because of my hard work with Gone Gator Radio, the last I heard, tompetty.com will be rolling out Tom Petty Radio. I really wanted this to be a much smoother transition. Basically turning off GGR once TP Radio was live. But I was offered nothing to help me make this happen. I don't know WHEN this will happen. Just know that it will happen because of Gone Gator Radio.

I want to Thank all the people who have supported my efforts in the last few months! I truly apppreciate it. I hope you all enjoyed Gone Gator Radio while it lasted. I will continue to provide you with information as I get it with gonegator.com

Thank you!

Sean

It Never Rains In Southern California

2007-01-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Malibu Fires
It Never Rains In Southern California

For those who have been watching the news lately about the Malibu Fires, I just got off the phone with the office, I asked if Tom, Dana and family were ok with the fires in Malibu that have been blazing.

I was told that the fires had come DANGEROUSLY close to Tom's house, but nothing was damaged and EVERYONE is ok!

I know that will ease many peoples' minds!

Happily Not Retired

2006-12-29T07:44:00.000-08:00

By Geoff Boucher, LA Times Staff Writer

TOM PETTY got plenty of mileage out of the Mad Hatter persona in the 1980s, but on a recent afternoon he staggered to answer his mansion door looking like a surlier version of the Scarecrow from Oz's cornfields. In denim and tattered flannel, and with a gimpy knee buckling beneath him, the 55-year-old rock star sized up the visitors on his porch, shrugged and handed off a lit cigarette to his wife. "OK, so where are we doing this photo?"

The photographer positioned the singer beside a tree that partially obscured him, and Petty, pleased by the notion of camouflage, held up his guitar for further cover. The reporter asked Petty if he loathes interviews. "It's part of the job," he answered, the way a miner might shrug and explain that yes, of course black lung is to be expected when you dig coal for a living. "And sometimes," Petty added, "people get things wrong or misunderstand."

This year, Petty did an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that made it sound as though he was retiring. He is not. But the article led to a flood of media requests because, well, there's nothing quite so tidy for a music journalist as a career-closing retrospective. Petty was by turns amused, frustrated and dazed by the false-retirement attention, but it all fed into a one-of-a-kind year for a singer who may be one of the most routinely undervalued songwriters in the rock pantheon. "I really couldn't have imagined a year like this happening," he said. "I didn't see this coming, especially with the way things were just a few years ago."

Petty and his band, the Heartbreakers, celebrated their 30th anniversary this year with a triumphant tour that, in September, included a homecoming to Gainesville, Fla., where the band formed in the 1970s. The return was greeted with a local fervor that made it seem like the Fab Four returning to Liverpool, except this Liverpool was situated between humid swamps and these Beatles sounded more like the Byrds. The mayor came on stage with a key to the city, the local press gushed and Petty watched the whole scene wide-eyed.

"It spooked me, really. It was nice but it was also overwhelming," he said. "You can't really walk down the street or talk to anybody because everybody was talking at once. At the concert I just hid in the bus until it was time to play."

The homecoming was only one in a crush of valentines for Petty. His new solo album, "Highway Companion," was met with strong reviews and, this month, two Grammy nominations as well, including best rock album. It was his first new music in four years — a fact that had escaped him until a European journalist asked him to explain the drought. "I was surprised. Was it really that long? Yes, I guess it was." See, sometimes these interviews can be enlightening.

The album, released at midyear, has a gothic feel in spots and Petty's nasal drawl fits in especially well on "Down South," a song draped in the Spanish moss of central Florida, where Petty grew up. The lyrics sound like a vagabond spinning on his heel and retracing his steps.

Headed back down south

Gonna see my daddy's mistress

Gonna buy back her forgiveness

Pay off every witness

One more time down south

Clearly, he's a fellow who inventories the skeletons in his closet.

Petty and his band are also the focus of a documentary, due in 2007, by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. It's not simply a filmed concert or extended music video, either; Bogdanovich followed the band on the road, recorded rehearsals with hidden cameras, sat them down for lengthy interviews and rummaged through their vaults for footage.

"It's looking at Tom, an American troubadour in the truest sense of the word, and the history and legacy of this band, which is a considerable history indeed," Bogdanovich said backstage at Petty's Hollywood Bowl show a few months ago. Also backstage were Stevie Nicks, with her hair up in curlers, and Traveling Wilburys alumnus Jeff Lynne. Both of them would join Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage as surprise guests. Petty seemed a bit overwhelmed by the ovations, patting his heart, waving to the crowd. He may not be retiring, but it's clear he's soaking up every single minute these days.

Classic touch

"THAT night," Petty said, "that was one of our best shows. That's why we're upset it wasn't reviewed in The Times." Back on Petty's porch, the photos were done. It was time to amble over to the guesthouse that had been converted to a recording studio, guys' clubhouse and jam retreat.
Despite all of the accolades this year, and the 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Petty is a bit prickly when it comes to getting his due. It may be partly because radio programmers deny him airplay for new music (after his sniping at corporate radio with the 2002 album "The Last DJ," some of that may be personal) and because after collaborations with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and so many other icons, Petty is sometimes consigned to a junior partner role in the minds of fans. The singer does not have leading-man good looks, and it's fair to say the best reviews of his career were early on.

But what a career it has been. Just look at the hits, all sly but accessible: "Breakdown," "American Girl," "Listen to Her Heart," "Free Fallin'," "The Waiting," "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Do Me Like That," "Don't Come Around Here No More."

Still, there's something to the blue-collar ethos of the band that makes people describe it with language veering toward the drab. There are plenty of compliments, but lots of them sound like "My, what a handsome woman." Check out the official entry on them at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website: "Durable, resourceful, hard-working, likeable and unpretentious, they rank among the most capable and classic rock bands of the last quarter century." It sounds like they're selling a used Packard.

Bogdanovich calls Petty and his crew "a great American rock band of a sort you don't find anymore," and that's true. Calling someone a rare link to the classic rock era doesn't sound complimentary, but in this case it is. This band gathered up threads from the music traditions of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Dylan and Fleetwood Mac as well as the crowd-pleasing sensibility of 1950s rockers who were intuitively suspicious of "art" and put a premium on writing hit songs and playing their instruments better than anyone else. Benmont Tench, the keyboardist for the Heartbreakers, said he's also blanched at arty aspirations for a rock band. "We wanted to make music that follows a certain tradition and appeals to a lot of people," he said, "and there's nothing wrong with that. Far from it."

Picking up

A few years ago, Petty was in a roadside diner and was handed a cup of coffee. It was fantastic. "I asked the waitress and she said it was Maxwell House. The instant kind." So, now at his Malibu mansion, the one with the tennis courts and pools, you can request a cup of java, but you'll get handed a cup of joe.

In his studio, Petty began to warm up with the coffee in his hand, the cigarette between his fingers and a seat to nurse the knee that, after thousands of stage stunts, is now in the seasons of surgery.
Petty is in an otherwise healthy phase of life. That wasn't the case a few years ago. "Things," he said, "got dark. Let's just say that." A bitter divorce led to a slide into a hermit's haze. Petty isolated himself and self-medicated with the familiar rock-star prescriptions. "Things weren't good and I was worried about him. We all were," said Mike Campbell, the Heartbreakers' guitarist and "co-captain," as Petty calls him. Salvation is hard to catalog, but in this case it looked like a new marriage (to Dana York), a new album and a rejuvenated spirit in the band. Veteran rock outfits have to give one another room to stay together, Petty says, but he is clearly pleased that the winks and hugs are back.

"You learn a lot about each other and it's amazing that we have done this for so long, not many people can," he said. "We still argue but it's for the music. The big difference is we don't punch each other anymore. You learn that you can't play if you got a sore hand."

The Malibu afternoon was giving way to a cool twilight. The grumpy scarecrow from the porch had been replaced by a chuckling Mad Hatter. Petty told stories about Orbison and Johnny Cash and mentioned how Dylan had told him that he loved "The Last DJ," which endured plenty of critical barbs.

"You can't have a real comeback if you have any turkeys in there," Petty explained. "Bob told me that the audience comes and goes and praise comes and goes, but you just have to not listen too much." Petty sipped his good-to-the-last-drop coffee. "You never know how things are going to turn out, and I didn't see this year coming, like I said. But maybe next year will be even better."

Soundstage Celebrates 4th Season With Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

2006-12-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

Live from Gatorville

Classic American rockers and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS (March 1, 2007) accompanied by special guest, Stevie Nicks, perform such hits as 'American Girl,' 'Learning To Fly,' and 'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around.' The performances were all filmed in Petty's hometown of Gainesville , making this an emotional and electrifying evening for him.

From The Estate of Howie Epstein

2006-12-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

The Estate of Howie Epstein is presenting for auction Howie's collection of guitars and basses to the public. Some of these were his primary touring instruments that were played for more than 20 years with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the majority of them were used in his studio until his untimely and tragic death in 2003. Included in this collection are a few prototypes and one-off instruments. They have all been preserved as he left them, unpolished with strings un-changed. This diverse collection of guitars and basses, offered by Howie's brothers, captures the essence of Howie Epstein as a musician, songwriter and producer.

Howie received a Grammy Award for his production work on John Prine's "The Missing Years". Howie also worked with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Carlene Carter, Roy Orbison, John Hiatt, John Fogerty, Del Shannon, Leslie West, Stevie Nicks, Carl Perkins, Linda Ronstadt, Rosie Flores and Warren Zevon among others. The instruments up for auction (see list to follow) undoubtedly have been in the presence of many legendary musicians. For more information on Howie and video clips please visit his MySpace page: http://myspace.com/howieepstein

All instruments have been inspected and appraised by Top Shelf Guitar Shop. This is a sealed-bid auction. Potential buyers can submit bids on the entire collection or on individual instruments, by sending a letter to Top Shelf Guitar Shop at the address below. Please include in your correspondence: Your name, address, phone number, email address and signature. Acceptable methods of payment: cashier's check, or money order (wire transfer on international purchase) payable to The Estate of Howard Epstein. Buyers pay shipping and insurance (and international customs fees, if applicable).

Bids must be submitted by January 31st, 2007

Top Shelf Guitar Shop
C/O Howie Epstein Estate
2358 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207
(414) 481-8677

Top Shelf Guitar Shop is not affiliated with the Howie Epstein Estate.

Click here for list of instruments

One Less Menace

2006-11-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Richard Johnson - New York Post

Tom Petty looks like a mellow old hippie, but guess again. "I can never have a gun in the house. I'm not allowed," the veteran rocker tells the February issue of Guitar World Acoustic. "I've had mine taken away for disturbing the peace. There were times when I'd just start shooting. Not at people, but I'd go out and kill a tree. When I'd get mad, I'd take a gun and kill some inanimate object. So it was the right thing to have the guns taken away. They're dangerous."

Tom Petty and Gatorland, ville

2006-11-18T07:31:00.000-08:00

Scott Powers - Orlando Sentinel

Contrary to reports, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers aren't doing any shows with Gatorland, but the rockers send their regards.

Earlier this week a new music TV channel, called Rave HD, announced it would present the world premiere of "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live From Gatorland."

What's this? Is the Florida native doing a benefit show for the old Florida attraction, damaged and temporarily closed by a Nov. 6 fire?

Turns out, the "Gatorland" in the title referred to the land of the Gators, as in Gainesville, hometown to both Petty and the Florida Gators, where the show was recorded on Sept. 21.

Advised there existed a real Gatorland (one with a long history, a current news issue and a legal trademark) Petty's manager said Friday they would change the name of the show.
Now it will be billed "Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live from Gatorville," said manager Tony Dimitriades.

They're changing the name out of respect for to the park, Dimitriades said.
Meanwhile, Gatorland is pushing forward on its Nov. 24 reopening. Spokeswoman Michelle Harris said a Petty representative she spoke with sounded sympathetic about the attraction's plight, so she tried to work with that.

"We said we'd love to have them play Gatorland's grand opening next weekend," she said. "We extended the offer to them. Maybe they'll take us up."
Click here for RaveHD

Here's the Press Release from the 15th

VOOM'S RAVE HD SCORESWORLD BROADCAST PREMIERE OFTOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS'SOLD-OUT HOMECOMING CONCERT"TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: LIVE FROM GATORLAND" ON DECEMBER 15

New York, November 15, 2006 - Solidifying its emerging status as the prime television destination for top music acts, VOOM HD Network's RAVE HD-the first and only 24/7 high definition music channel-will present the world premiere of "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live From Gatorland," a special concert featuring Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. On December 15th at 9 P.M. ET and again at 9 P.M. PT, catch the band as they return to Gainesville, FL, where it all started, to play their first hometown show in 13 years. The performance, part of their current North American concert tour, was shot on September 21st, with Stevie Nicks joining the band on stage for several songs.

RAVE HD will air additional showings of this two-hour special event during the holiday season.
Rave HD is a new way to experience music on television. The first-ever 24/7 high definition music channel, Rave HD offers commercial-free programming that harnesses the surround-sound power of Dolby Digital 5.1, and the breathtaking depth and clarity of state-of-the-art HD video technology, to showcase music with a physical and emotional impact that television has never delivered before. Rave HD is one of the VOOM HD Networks, a critically acclaimed collection of 15 high-def channels with programming that also covers sports, video games, movies, art, family fare and news. Rave HD is currently available on channel 9470 on the DISH Network.

For Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Gainesville concert was an emotional and electrifying evening, as it was for the many family, friends, fans and media who attended from all over the world. The band performed songs from their three-decade career, including rarely played gems, influential covers, and songs from Petty's new solo album, Highway Companion. The Gainesville Sun's front-page headline review described the show as "a raucous triumph." To commemorate their return to Gainesville and the band's 30th anniversary, Gainesville's Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan presented the band with the key to the city and proclaimed September 21 "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Day."

Since his band's self-titled debut in 1976, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50-million records, been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, and as a group in 2002, were inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Petty's third solo release, Highway Companion, became Petty's highest-ever chart debut when it was released earlier this year to tremendous critical acclaim. Associated Press calls it "one of Petty's finest albums" and People gave it four stars, citing it as "most definitely worth the journey." Highway Companion is out now on American Recordings.
Additional holiday airings include

December 24th at 10 P.M. ET,
December 25th at 8 P.M. ET,
December 27th at 3 P.M. ET and
December 29th at 9 P.M. ET.

Thank You!

2006-11-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU!!!

To all who donated and pitched in to get gonegator.com back up and running! Thank you very very much! Donations are always appreciated to help keep this site up to date and also to buy new equipment for Gone Gator Radio!!! Thanks again!

Sean

Happy Birthday Tom Petty

2006-10-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Happy 56th BirthdayTom Petty!!!

Thanks for the tunes!

Gainesville Welcomes Native Son

2006-10-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

By Leslie Gray StreeterPalm Beach Post

GAINESVILLE — There is no Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers wing at the Matheson Museum, maintained by the Alachua County Historic Trust in a cozy downtown building, no music video retrospective, or even that freaky-big Mad Hatter hat Petty wore in the Don't Come Around Here No More video.

But if you make your way past the intricately recreated general store and the exhibit about the area's Timucuan Indians, you can have a seat at a long library table, where a nice employee will hand you the 1967 edition of The Hurricane, Gainesville High School's yearbook.

And there, in the junior class section, listed under the "P's," is a guy in regulation white shirt and dark tie, staring from under an unassuming thatch of short blond hair. Nothing about Tommy
Petty suggests his rise to rock stardom within the next decade — like most of the guys in his class, his conservative outfit and neat coiffure say more "Future bank manager" than anything else.

But if you flip toward the middle of the book, you'll see several photos of the various local bands who all get their equipment from Lipham's Music Company. The bands, The Taxmen, The Maundy Quintet and The Epics, are all at their Mersey Beat best, their longish bangs swept magnificently across their eager foreheads.

And there with The Epics, posed languidly against a brick wall around a drum bearing the band's name, is Tommy Petty. His face is still unlined and full of that beautiful prideful innocence that propels a young man to pick up a guitar and dare dream that he, out of all of these beautiful young men, is going to be a star.

Petty's not the only guy who ever made it out of Gainesville to the bright arena lights — The Eagles' Don Felder and Bernie Leadon, who's in that Maundy Quartet picture, are from here, so "a lot of people are interested in the musical history of the area," says Lisa Auel, the museum's director.

But whenever that history's mentioned, it's often in association with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. They're the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted sons of this university town, whose Victorian houses and tree-lined streets would seem to be more a part of a sleepy genteel Georgia than the theme parks and palm trees outsiders might associate with Florida.

Petty's name has come up a lot lately, because that evening, the band will have a triumphant homecoming performance on the University of Florida's campus, their first show here in 13 years, celebrating their 30th anniversary.

As Petty says later that day at a press conference at the O'Connell Center, where they will completely freak out a sold-out crowd, "it wouldn't have made any sense if we didn't play here."
Thomas Earl Petty was born here, went to school here and discovered music here, like a lot of guys in the vibrant 1960s Gainesville band scene. Talk to any old-timer, you'll probably hear a story about seeing the thin blond dude play with the Epics, or with Mudcrutch, pieces of which became The Heartbreakers. They'll talk about Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, who were in Mudcrutch, and Ron Blair, a Georgia native who joined them later with drummer Stan Lynch.

You'll also hear about Tommy's parents, the late Kitty, and the rest of his family, including first cousin Sadie Darnell, a 30-year veteran and former captain of the Gainesville Police Department, 2000's "Florida Law Enforcement Officer of the Year," and current candidate for Alachua County sheriff.

There are "Welcome Home" signs all over town, and in the halls of the Holiday Inn University Center, a cheerful maintenance worker pushing a large trash receptacle correctly guesses that guests lugging suitcases to their rooms are in town for the show.

"Everybody's goin' to see ol' Tom," the man says. "We gonna have a homecoming!"
Yep, everybody's going, at least everybody that could get tickets, which sold out in less than 30 minutes. Tom Petty is on everyone's mind, it seems, and so Lisa Auel's met people at the museum who want to know "where Tom Petty lived, where he played," she says.

It seems that tracing the steps of Tom Petty is as popular a tourist activity in Gainesville as visiting the places in Colonial America bearing the plaque "George Washington slept here."
"Except here," Auel says, "it's 'Tom Petty slept here.' "

'Petty kinda slept here'

Or at least "Tom Petty maybe kinda slept here... we think."

That's what Monta Burt and his wife, Peggy, were told by a guy taking part in a historic home tour that stopped at Laurel Oak Inn, the bright, sprawling Victorian bed and breakfast the Burts own. In a former life, the house was divided into four apartments and, along with a house next door, was Party Central in the late 1960s. The area gained the nickname "Hippie Hill," and one specific hippie was rumored to have bunked in a back bedroom, now Laurel Oak Inn's bright kitchen.
"We had this one lady come in and say 'I can't tell you what I used to do in this house,' " Monta Burt says, pointing to "Before" pictures of electric Kool-Aid-colored walls and general shabbiness. "And this one guy come through and he said 'When I was here, Petty had this place.' This apparently was the party palace."

In interviews, Petty has amusedly disputed the urban legends about all of the houses he's supposedly lived in in Gainesville, saying that after moving out of his parents' home, he only lived in apartments. Burt, whose family lived in Wellington for 10 years, says that even though that rumor about Petty's supposed residence at what is now the Laurel Oak Inn has never been substantiated, it was referred to in the home's official house tour description.

"I never confirmed that he lived here, but there's no doubt he was hanging here," he says. "The town loves that he's from here."

And as cool as it would have been to be able to hang an authenticated "Tom Petty Slept Here" sign over the stainless steel refrigerator, Burt says the rumors are an indication of how important the Heartbreakers are to Gainesville.

"He's big enough," Burt says, "that people would bother starting rumors about places he might have lived."

Where are they now?

"This guy, Dicky Underwood, he works for the city of Gainesville, and this one, Ricky Rucker, is a school teacher in Ocala," Buster Lipham says, his finger moving around a black and white photograph of The Epics, taken in the store's former location on Northeast Sixth Terrace.
"Ricky's brother Rodney Rucker works for the University of Florida. And this guy... " he says deadpanning, indicating a smiling blond kid in a white shirt, "this guy moved out of town."
Tommy Petty may or may not have crashed on a mattress on Hippie Hill, but it's documented fact that he spent a lot of quality time at Lipham's, the store Buster's late dad, Val, opened in 1965. Tommy worked there when he was in high school — the photo from the yearbook is posted on the wall behind the cash register, crowded in with some canceled checks signed by The Allman Brothers and a signed photo of Ray Charles.

"Gainesville was full of music. Tommy was like a lot of the kids, he got into music around the age of 11 or 12," Lipham says. "He came in one day and said 'I'd like a job.' He wanted to be a salesperson. He was really tenacious. If you came in here, you'd better watch out, 'cause Tommy was like a bulldog. He would not let you go 'til you bought something."
One of the clerks turns to a fiftysomething guy behind the counter, his dark shaggy hair the tell-tale sign of his life as a member of the Gainesville music scene.

"Hey, Tom, you knew Tommy, didn't you?" the clerk asks.
Tom Holtz nods. He's worked at Lipham's for 20 years, suggesting the right guitar or bass, and watching subsequent generations of the possibly soon-to-be famous walk in and out. Like Felder, Petty and Leadon, he was part of the scene that sprung up around the college "because there were so many young people to play for. Here you are in the middle of rural Florida, basically South Georgia.

"What else was there to do?"

Holtz says that most of the bands here at the time emulated the jangly sound of the Beatles and other British bands and America's the Byrds. Holtz and Tommy, who he'd been in a boys choir class with at Gainesville High, were in the scene together, sharing war stories and gigs, and even subbing in each other's bands every once in a while.

"So many," Holtz says, nonchalantly. "One time I filled in for a guy in Mudcrutch for a couple of weeks."

Screeeetch, goes the invisible record needle somewhere in your brain. Hold the phone... so what he's saying here is that, had Fate zigged instead of pulling one of her tricky zags, that he could've maybe have been a Heartbreaker, that maybe he'd be about to give a triumphant homecoming show rather than selling sheet music?

Holtz shrugs.

"I was coming from a three-piece jam band, a little more stream-of-consciousness. For me, the music Mudcrutch was doing was totally different. They were feeling me out," he says, not one bit of regret or "Coulda been me!" bitterness in his voice. "I don't think I was the person they needed."
From what Holtz remembers, Tommy Petty's playing (he was on bass then) was solid but didn't stand out among all the other solid players on the scene. It would be the songwriting skills that he was then just developing that would set him apart, skills based in his very ordinariness.

"He writes about everyday people, the thing that most people care about," Holtz says.
A couple of the guys in the band were in the store a few days ago, browsing and saying hello. Director Peter Bogdanovich, who's working on a documentary about the band, has been in, too. The last time Holtz saw Tommy was when Tommy, by then superstar Tom Petty, was in town 12 years ago for Earl Petty's funeral.

At first, he didn't recognize him under the big hat and coat he was wearing, and the big bodyguard he had with him was hard to see around. But then Tommy got his attention, said hello.
"He's still down to earth. That must be hardest for him to be," Holtz says. "That was cool."

Tattoo expansion

"This is the second round," Laura Campos says, her arms sweeping around a section at the mouth of Beef O' Brady's restaurant. There are about 25 people sitting in booths or around a long table, eating burgers and listening to some guys play Petty's The Waiting in front of a large TV screen where a muted Petty sings his heart out. There had been about 50.

"I know some people who work at the Hilton where the band is staying, and a girl ran into Tom. He signed her copy of his book," Campos says. "I'm so jealous, I could spit."

The 36-year-old manicurist, and Petty fan and owner Daniel McCann, organized this little hootenanny, and a tailgate party that will form later at Campos' parents' house, online. The guests are frequent visitors of some Petty fan sites, including Gonegator.com.

Campos' dad unknowingly hooked her when he took her to see Mudcrutch on the UF campus when she was 4. She's now seen Petty maybe 10 or 15 times — "I've lost count" — and she wears her fandom on her skin, the form of a band logo tattoo on her butt.

"And hell, no, I don't regret it," she says. "The band's so down-to-earth. And their music touches me. It's just good quality rock 'n' roll.... My goal now is to get my tattoo autographed by Tom, and then add it to my tattoo."

Steve Shaley's proving his devotion not with ink but with plane tickets. He and wife Terri flew into Orlando this morning from their home in St. Cloud, Minn., making the pilgrimage to Gainesville to celebrate two anniversaries — the Heartbreakers' 30th and the Shaleys' 23rd.

"Tom Petty's the only one I'd do this for," Steve Shaley says, finishing his drink. "It's been 13 years since he's played here, and I wanted to be a part of it. We just saw him back home in June. But we wanted to see the homecoming, and this was the greatest excuse to take a three-day trip."
Across town, James Lescott, who works at a local hotel, is installed with other fans at The Salty Dog, "which is dirty and old, but a good dirty and old."

In his 30s, Lescott says he's a Petty fan because "they are probably one of the best live acts going.... If heaven were to have a house band God would make it these guys. Just perfect."

Cousin power

The appointed hour is upon us, and all the lucky folks who got tickets, as well as some people hoping to score some outside, have descended on UF and the surrounding area, parking in every lot and lawn that the enterprising neighbors have thought to open up. In front of the O'Connell Center, in the box office line marked "Band and Press Will Call Only," are eight men and women wearing red Sadie Darnell campaign T-shirts.

"I grew up between here and Georgia. How can you not be a Tom Petty fan?" asks Sadie supporter Louise Grimm, "Like the fairy tales. You wanna meet Sadie?"

She looks toward the front of the line, pointing to a woman with short brown hair who's talking to the ticket people. Sadie Darnell gets her tickets, shakes a couple of hands, and walks down the line. She says that some supporters suggested that her Web site read "Law Enforcement Officer of the Year... and Tom Petty's cousin."

"But I said I should do it on my own," she says. "There is a connection, though. Tommy and I both think it's important for young people to know the importance of voting, to try to make the world a better place. In our generation, we thought of voting as a privilege."

So what does Cousin Sadie know about Tommy Petty that the world doesn't?

"He had an incredible sense of humor," she says. "And that most of the family doubted that he was gonna make it. He always said he was gonna be a famous rock 'n' roll musician. I doubted it, too. I was gonna be an airplane pilot, and that didn't happen."

Wow. It seems that for the family, just like everyone else, Tommy Petty was one more talented kid in the yearbook, just an ordinary guy who didn't seem to have any better shot at making it than anyone else. That is, until he did. And just like the rest of Gainesville, Sadie Darnell couldn't be more pleased that he's the one it happened to. After all, Cousin Tommy's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she could be sheriff.

"Isn't that funny?" she says. "Both us, living the dream. That's pretty cool."

Happy Birthday Ron Blair

2006-09-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Heartbreaker and all around great guy (from all reports, interviews, etc.) Ron Blair! Ron was born September 16, 1948. 18 years and ONE DAY before the guy who runs this site. Ron returned to the Heartbreakers as bass player in the summer of '02 after a 20 year vacation.

Austin City Limits LIVE Webcast!

2006-09-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Just got this from fanscape. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Austin City Limits performance will be broadcast live on my 40th Birthday! Celebrate with me! Sunday September 17th. Actually, I'll be celebrating starting tomorrow night and continuing through the Atlanta show September 22nd.
Hello,

I work at Fanscape, a New Media Marketing Agency. We are working on the official online Austin City Limits broadcast September 15th- 17th in the AT&T blue room. Tom Petty will be one of the artists featured in this live streaming coverage. We want to let all of the fans who were unable to get to Austin City Limits this year know that they are still able to enjoy the performance online.
LIVE BROADCAST of Performances at Austin City Limits!

Didn't get tickets to Austin City Limits? You can STILL watch Tom Petty perform LIVE as it's happening from Zilker Park in Austin, TX.

Don't miss out! http://blueroom.att.com/ to go to the AT&T blue room and enjoy hours of free, uninterrupted, live streaming coverage from Austin City Limits Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 15th-17th.

The webcast will feature live performances from Tom Petty and more! So check it out!
Thank you for all your help!
Sincerely,
Chris CorcesFanscape

Happy Birthday Benmont Tench

2006-09-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to one of the most sought after studio musicians in the world, a piano player's piano player, one of the nicest guys I ever met and, oh yeah, a Heartbreaker...Mr. Benmont Tench

What's not to like about Tom Petty?

2006-08-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

By SHAWN TELFORD
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

This essay does not intend to answer the following question but begs the discussion: What is the cultural significance of Tom Petty?

Sixteen Grammy nominations, four Grammy Awards, 15 albums on Billboard's Top 100, 15 singles on Billboard's Hot 100, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, member of the Traveling Wilburys with rock legends Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne, accolades and awards too numerous to mention, he stayed cool through the '80s without becoming a novelty and, most important, everyone just loves Petty.

OK, maybe not "love" love. Perhaps it's better to say that no one hates Petty. In fact, his appreciation goes from "Yeah, he's OK" to "I love him," but never "I hate him."

Why is that? This is an artist known for writing three-chord songs, and his nasally vocals don't have much range, he's never too high or too low, neither too flowery nor technically ornate. Could Petty's success lie in his simplicity? Never one to show off, his meek demeanor and straightforward approach have made him an Everyman whose broad message is so perfectly plain that listeners can find a piece of themselves in it.

The thousands who descended upon White River Amphitheatre Sunday night certainly found something. Most of the diverse crowd stood through the entire show singing so loud to the defiant "I Won't Back Down" that Petty admitted it almost knocked him down. "Free Fallin' " was no quieter as it seemed everyone must have known a girl who loves her momma, "loves Jesus and America, too." And again during "You Don't Know How It Feels," the audience pined along with Petty because who hasn't felt alienated and trapped "too alone to be proud"? Yeah, you don't know how it feels to be me, do you?

In addition to his innate ability to reduce the trials and tribulations of everyday life into something simply poetic, Petty has pretty cool friends, too, like honorary Heartbreaker Stevie Nicks, who made a surprise appearance to sing "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and then stuck around to duet with Petty on "I Need To Know" and "Insider."

Pretty cool, right? Well, it gets better because who recently toured with Petty? Pearl Jam. So who else made a surprise appearance to sing "The Waiting"? You guessed it: Eddie Vedder.
Now, let's ponder this: The dead-sexy Stevie Nicks playing tambourine in your band is pretty cool, but Stevie and Eddie both on tambourine and backing vocals is unbelievable. Even Vedder found the experience overwhelming when, during the "American Girl" encore, he messed up the lyrics and turned mischievously to Petty, who quickly stepped in to show the younger rock star how it's done. It gave Vedder time to remember the words so that verse two went perfectly. The real crowning moment was Vedder, Nicks and Petty singing, "Oh yeah, all right/ Take it easy, baby/ Make it last all night/ She was an American girl!"

So, in conclusion, if anyone were ever to ask if Tom Petty really matters, the right answer would be, "Are you kidding?"

New Tom Petty is Terrific!

2006-08-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

Entertainment Weekly -- Such a variety of transportation devices are name-checked on "Highway Companion," Tom Petty's third solo album, that you half expect the final track to be about Jet Skiing. (Almost: The song, a beautiful lament named ''The Golden Rose,'' actually concerns a boat trip.)

A plane, a horse, a helicopter, a train, and enough cars to fill a small parking lot are all featured as Petty's various protagonists journey in search of things they think they need (love, sex, beer), often to end up back where they started.

As Petty croons on the aptly titled ''Square One'': ''It took a world of trouble, took a world of tears/Yeah, it took a long time to get back here.''

"Highway Companion" itself marks a return for the singer-songwriter. As with Petty's first album without longtime backing band the Heartbreakers, 1989's "Full Moon Fever," Highway was co-produced by ELO chief (and Petty's fellow Traveling Wilbury) Jeff Lynne, who again keeps his more baroque knob-twiddling tendencies in check.

The result is a close sonic sibling to "Full Moon," though it contains fewer out-and-out rockers. It is also a huge improvement on 2002's Heartbreakers-assisted "The Last DJ," a cantankerous critique of the record industry that seemed to reflect a broader dissatisfaction with life on Petty's part.

Not that the new album is short on bleak moments. The many quests described in "Highway" are fraught with problems, be they physical (an unreadable note in ''This Old Town''; bald tires on the spacey, jazz-tinged ''Night Driver'') or emotional (''Gonna see my daddy's mistress/Gonna buy back her forgiveness,'' he sings on ''Down South,'' while first single ''Saving Grace'' depicts the hunt for salvation by a woman who has traveled so far she no longer knows who she is).

Yet these songs are, in their melancholic way, quite excellent, with Petty demonstrating a creative joie de vivre even when spinning tales decidedly lacking in joie. Had Bob Dylan actually penned the gnomically evocative (and quite Dylanesque) ''Down South,'' it would be far from his worst effort. ''Saving Grace,'' meanwhile, is a great, ominous rumble of a track, somewhat reminiscent of John Lee Hooker's ''Boom Boom,'' that boasts a raft of spiky lead guitar interjections.

Elsewhere, ''Flirting With Time'' features a memorably Byrdsian chorus, while the heartbreaking ''Damaged by Love'' is almost as good as the Petty track it most resembles, ''Free Fallin'.''
True, the clunky-chorused horse tale ''Ankle Deep'' belongs in the songwriting equivalent of a glue factory. But for most of its length, "Highway Companion" is not just a return to square one -- it's also a true return to form.

EW Grade: A-

Tom Petty and the heart-felt hits

2006-07-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

A legendary rock band manages to be humble and stellar at once
MARTY HUGHLEY

With apologies to the folks behind the current ad campaign for the Volkswagen Jetta, you might say that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have the lowest ego emissions of any enduringly great American rock band.

Saturday night, Petty's venerable combo took the Amphitheater at Clark County for a two-hour joy ride through classic territory, cruising through hit after potently memorable hit with nary a bump in the road nor a pointless hey-look-at-me maneuver.

Which is to say, even among the few acts that might compare with the Heartbreakers in terms of success, longevity, consistency, distinctiveness and so on, none is so disciplined in its focus on the songs. The band's delivery is concise, precise and spirited, and in its attention to detail seems to honor not just its own craftsmanship but the audience's deep association with every melodic hook and tonal contour.

With the sound at Saturday's show rich and finely balanced from the first notes, that fealty to the studio versions was so strong you might have distrusted it, if not for Petty's decades as a paragon of rock 'n' roll integrity. If you've ever heard "Listen to Her Heart," "You Don't Know How It Feels," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin' " or his new hit "Saving Grace" on a great sound system, just imagine a little added energy and, occasionally, a full house singing along.

On the other hand, these guys are anything but rockin' robots. "Mary Jane's Last Dance," for instance, rolled along with just the right dreamy yet steady feel, but a rare guitar solo from Petty instead of his trusted "co-captain" Mike Campbell was an unexpected treat. And the whole affair began to breathe more when Campbell and drummer Steve Ferrone cut loose with a pair of gritty British blues-rock covers (the Yardbirds' "I'm a Man" and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well"), a nod to the band's early influences.

Special guest Stevie Nicks came out to share lead vocals with Petty on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know," and returned a bit later for "The Insider" and some backing harmonies on "Don't Come Around Here No More." But more crucial to the show's success were less-celebrated contributors, especially band co-founder Benmont Tench, whose stately piano embellishments added an extra layer of drama to the rocker "Runnin' Down a Dream," and Oregon native Scott Thurston, on harmonica, rhythm guitar and backing vocals.

The current tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of the band's debut album. And while signature rockers such as "Refugee" and "You Wreck Me" were high points, it was especially gratifying that new songs such as the Byrdsy "Flirting With Time" and the delicate ballad "Square One" sounded like instant classics, too.

Petty has hinted that this may be his last lengthy national tour. But this American-engineered rock band is still an unassuming king of the road.

Tom Petty, MLB teaming up

2006-07-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

July 28, 2006

Musician's latest solo album available on MLB.com
By Doug Miller / MLB.com

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are on the road this summer, marking their 30-year anniversary by selling out halls all over the country and attracting big-name special guests and opening acts.
But that doesn't mean Petty doesn't have time to continue creating timeless American rock n' roll music.

He's done it once again with his third solo album, Highway Companion, and early reviews indicate it's among the best of his career.

As part of the celebration, Petty and Major League Baseball are teaming up to make Highway Companion available at MLB.com.

Petty and the Heartbreakers also performed the first single, "Saving Grace," for broadcast on rehearsals.com, the state-of-the-art behind-the-scenes Web site powered by the famed Southern California rehearsal space CenterStaging and MLB Advanced Media.

And all of this is being observed by famed film director Peter Bogdanovich, who is working on a full-length documentary about Tom and the Heartbreakers' classic tale of rock success.

"It's a great story that's very American, as I say, and the material, the music, continues to be terrific," Bogdanovich said in a recent interview with rehearsals.com. "Over 30 years, and I don't know how many hits they've had, but many."

There figure to be quite a few more from Highway Companion, which was produced with Jeff Lynne and features Petty playing many of the instruments, including drums.

"Saving Grace" has become more and more of a show-stopper on the summer tour.
At a recent tour stop in St. Paul, Minn., Petty introduced the number by saying "I really like this one," and he wasn't the only one.

From the John Lee Hooker-esque lead guitar riff that takes you back to Petty's Gainesville, Fla., rock roots to the cryptic lyrics, including the pivotal line, "You're confident but not really sure," it's a song that creeps into your subconscious the more you hear it.

The same goes for many of the other tracks on Highway Companion, including the plaintive ballad "Square One" and "Down South," a moving number that has some of Petty's most introspective lyrics in years.

"Create myself down south/Impress all the women/Pretend I'm Samuel Clemens/Wear seersucker and white linens," Petty sings.

"Chase a ghost down south/Spirits cross the dead fields/Mosquitoes hit the windshield/All documents remain sealed."

"I just think it's a classic," Bogdanovich says of "Down South." "It's moody, reflective, it's got a beautiful tune and it's a very personal song, I think. He started in the South, his roots are there, and it's a beautiful ballad. I think it's very personal to him. I think it means a lot to him."

What also means a lot to Petty is the reception he's been getting on the road for his Highway Companion Tour.

He's been pulling out a good portion of his ever-growing hit catalog, with almost-nightly performances of classics "Listen To Her Heart," "You Don't Know How It Feels," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Learning To Fly," "Don't Come Around Here No More," "Refugee," "Runnin' Down A Dream" and "American Girl."

Stevie Nicks has been and will be a special guest for much of the tour, contributing her legendary vocals to rare live songs "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Insider" and "I Need To Know."

And the opening acts have been eclectic and brilliant, with former Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and Pearl Jam already having supported Petty, and the Allman Brothers Band, the Strokes, John Mayer, the Derek Trucks Band and Frank Black to come.

In other words, three decades after he started, it's still an exciting time to be a Tom Petty fan.
"Tom has been successful for 30 years because he's got an enormous amount of talent and an extraordinary determination, and a great sense of morality and ethics," Bogdanovich said.
"His music stands the test of time because it ... appealed to a lot of people from a lot of different places, a lot of different walks of life."

For Petty, signs of vindication

2006-07-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

By Patrick BerkeryFor The Inquirer

For 30 years they've been a model of consistency and integrity.

Classic albums like Wildflowers, Full Moon Fever (technically, solo Petty discs), and Damn the Torpedoes weren't return-to-form follow-ups after putrid flops, but part of a succession of good-to-great records.

You've never heard "Runnin' Down a Dream" in a Chevy ad - Petty refuses to license his music for commercials. Lest we forget, Hard Promises from 1981 was almost called $8.98 because Petty's label tried to jack up the suggested retail price from $8.98 to $9.98 (it caved).

Despite all this, and resume-builders like induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers simply don't get their due as one of the all-time great rock-and-roll institutions.

"That's the drawback to being consistent," Petty says with a laugh, on the phone from his home in Southern California between legs of his 30th-anniversary tour (which will hit the Tweeter Center on Aug. 18).

"Sometimes, I feel as though we've been taken for granted. We've always been there and always did what [the fans] thought we should do. We've had such a great deal of success it's hard to complain. Now, if the records had failed or no one came to see us, then it would bother me.
"I'm kind of happy this year because I do feel that people are finally starting to get it. They're starting to reevaluate what we've done, and are starting to realize that this is one of the great rock-and-roll bands."

To hear Petty's languid drawl over the phone is to be reminded of a voice that sang to you as a child, a voice that was the soundtrack to teenage kicks, and has helped you through adulthood's more trying days.

Millions probably cite a similar relationship with Petty, now 55, and his enduring songs like "Breakdown," "Refugee," "The Waiting," and "You Don't Know How It Feels" (to name but a few). They've outlasted every next big thing, from disco to rap-rock.

And they've influenced modern rockers like the Strokes, who appropriated the sprightly jangle of "American Girl" for "Last Nite," and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose recent single "Dani California" shares some DNA with "Mary Jane's Last Dance," a likeness Petty just shrugs off.
"Ah, so it sounds a little similar, bless 'em," he says.

That those whippersnappers would cop from songs that are 30 and 13 years old, respectively, underscores the timelessness of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' sound. The clarion tone of Rickenbacker guitars, two-lane-blacktop riffs, an occasional slow-burn groove, sun-blessed harmonies, and lyrical truisms like "The waiting is the hardest part" - it's as deeply woven into the fabric of American rock as the band's chief influences: Elvis, the Beach Boys, Dylan and the Byrds.

Credit the expert textures of the Heartbreakers - original members Mike Campbell on guitar and Benmont Tench on keyboards, 12-year vet Steve Ferrone on drums, 17-year vet and multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston, and original bassist Ron Blair, who returned in 2002. They're a crack unit whose musical lexicon embraces country, rock, blues, surf, soul, folk, lengthy jams and tight pop.

Discussing the Heartbreakers' underrated place in rock - particularly, that his versatile band often takes a backseat to Bruce Springsteen's more lauded, though arguably more one-dimensional, E Street Band - Petty slyly dances around the issue.

"Better for you to say that than me," he says, again laughing. "I'd say, put anybody up against them and you'll really see what's going on there, you know? The Heartbreakers, it's a multifaceted thing. You've got the hits, the albums, and a whole different personality as a live group. There's a lot of music in those boys."

Though he holds the Heartbreakers in high regard, Petty sensed early that his brilliant new album, Highway Companion (out yesterday), was shaping up to be a mellow affair and needed to be an intimate solo project. He'd play most of the instruments, rely on Campbell for his trademark lead and slide guitar lines, and tap Full Moon Fever coproducer and fellow former Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne to produce.

"I knew as the songs were being written that this was going to be a more delicate sort of record," Petty says of the album, which was initially being recorded simultaneously with a new Heartbreakers disc. "I wanted to use the space to my advantage and let the words do the work. And the band was cool about it, because they know we've got this other [album] that's going to be great."

When that new Heartbreakers record appears (Petty says it will include live favorites from recent tours such as the Southern-gothic epic "Melinda" and the breakneck garage-rocker "Black Leather Woman"), expect to see Petty out there promoting it. He disputes assertions recently in Rolling Stone that he's swearing off interviews and touring.

"You can quash that rumor. All I meant was that we're going to take some time off. A lot of projects have accumulated that I want to get done. And I can't get them done if I keep stopping and putting half the year into touring. I just want to finish this tour and get these things done. Give us a year or two; we'll come back."

Past 'Breakdown,' The Essential Petty

Ten Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs you won't hear on WMGK-FM:
1. "Runaway Trains" from Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), 1987. So very "Boys of Summer"-ish, so very forgotten single from the mid-'80s.

2. "Counting on You" (Echo, 1999). The Heartbreakers posing as Memphis soul men on a standout track from an unjustly overlooked album.

3. "Something Big" (Hard Promises, 1981). Cinematic dime-store mystery set in a dry, no-horse town.

4. "Honey Bee" (Wildflowers, 1994). Heavy dose of caveman blues-rock in the midst of a very pretty album.

5. "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1976). Angry young Petty gets done wrong and screams, "I Don't Like It."

6. "When the Time Comes" (You're Gonna Get It, 1978). Their Byrds-y jangle was finely honed by the time of their sophomore album.

7. "Two Gunslingers" (Into the Great Wide Open, 1991). Breezy song inspired by the Gulf War, still pertinent today.

8. "Echo" (Echo, 1999). Stunning melancholy from a dark time in Petty's personal life.

9. "Southern Accents" (Southern Accents, 1985). A poignant song about Petty's Dixie roots, with orchestration from Jack Nitzsche.

10. "Like a Diamond" (The Last DJ, 2002). A beautiful, harmony-filled ballad from a song cycle about the corporate tainting of America.

Tom Petty: Anatomy of a Rockstar

2006-07-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

By Jaan Uhelszki

Almost everyone that knows Tom Petty for any length of time calls him Tommy. Except, that is, for his rather stern looking housekeeper who’s bent over the gleaming stainless steel sink in his Malibu home’s state of the art kitchen, all dark oak, and imposing marble, with perfectly aligned canisters. “I wasn’t “Tom" until they put it on the records. People who have known me longer than that call me Tommy, but I decided to go with Tom because Tommy didn’t look right on the record," Petty says with a funny little shake of his head, like even he can't figure out his real identity. But that in itself is very telling. Spend any amount of time with him and you realize that three very different people co-exist underneath his still-blonde head. First there's the affable good ole' southern boy who wants to put everyone at ease, the perpetual Traveling Wilbury who finds humor and irony in every situation. Then there's the charismatic and flinty rock star. When he trains those silvery blue eyes on you, it’s like he’s looking clear through to your backbone. Full of ambition and resolve, this is the persona that impelled him to stand up to his abusive father and leave high school during his junior year because the world beckoned. The third persona is the most complicated, and the one that people seem to most connect with. Altruistic, uncompromising and filled with the need to make the world a better place, the big star stand in for the rest of us. Even Bob Dylan doesn't know what to make of him, saying once: “I've got a lot of respect for Tom—he's a deep soulful cat. Tom is a heroic character in his own kind of way."

The housekeeper calls him Mr. Petty, but then he pays her to show deference, and even—when necessary—to remind people that the master doesn't like it when people call his tasteful Moroccan homestead a mansion. And even worse, a “mini mansion."

While unpretentious, there’s more than a little bit of the British rock star about the place. More baronial than ostentatious like most of the homes on Malibu hillsides—if it had a few more pieces of nefarious arcane iconography Jimmy Page would feel right at home here. But instead of the overwrought ceremonial furniture of Aleister Crowley's Boleskine House which Page owned for twenty years, there's a life size stone Buddah in the north hall off the entry way; a silent witness to the Petty household. It looks a lot like the statue that graced the inside of 1999's Echo album cover, which at the time seemed more of a testament to good friend Stevie Nick's spiritual proclivities than Petty's, yet here it is, serenely at home among the many other museum quality object d' art that the musician's wife Dana has caged off of Ebay. “She's got a really good eye," he says when complimented about his beautiful and brainy second wife's taste. “Dana used to be involved in art, when I first met her. But now she mostly takes care of me," he says, a little chagrined.

He’s clearly smitten, even after ten years together, telling the listener that there’s a meant quality about their being together.

“My wife is a calming force in my life. Meeting her was one of the most mystical things that ever happened to me."

The Buddha stands guard along with Chase, a sandy colored English lab who takes up more than his share of psychic space. Despite his larger-than-a-dinner plate head and a propensity to headbutt strangers, Chase has an almost cartoonish grin on his canine face. As for the Buddha, it's rather imposing, towering at least four inches above Tom Petty's 5'10” frame. Today, on this Easter Monday, he's shod in battered camel colored Ugg Boots, which add to the filtered pale monochromatism of the late Spring day.

It's in the far wing of this sprawling house, set about a quarter mile from Pacific Coast Highway that Petty has been hard at work on his third solo album. While there's another Heartbreakers album planned, every now and then the musician has the need to exercise his solitary vision. Onboard again is Jeff Lynne and his long-time compatriot and Heartbreaker guitarist Mike Campbell. Titled Highway Companion, it's an album to put into a car's CD player and listen to when you're ready to head out for, if you'll excuse the expression, the great wide open.
“Lately I've been concerned with what I'll leave behind artistically. The biggest priority with the new record now is that I know this is here longer than me and that’s more important than [it] being a hit record. Years ago you'd have to make sure you had one that was a [hit] single. I don't think that pops up in my mind anymore. I’m a little more into the poetry and the lyrical images than I used to be. I don't want to waste a line, I want to mean something and I want it to be the right line. With this record I knew that I wanted to have a sound that was cohesive. I didn't want to make a concept album but I wanted it to fit together sonically. The space is everything in a record. It’s not anthemic at all. I'm real bored with [being] anthemic. I did that and I am not trying to do it again."

Tom Petty vibrates at a different frequency than the rest of us—despite the fact that he looks utterly normal. There’s a different, prescient, even twitchy-witchy energy always at work in the musician. While it may have something to do with the fact that one of his earliest jobs was a gravedigger (darkly reflected when he portrayed a grinning undertaker in the video for “Mary Jane's Last Dance") or his Cherokee heritage (attested to by all the Native American art and rugs in his home studio), Petty credits the creative process with primitive powers, freely admitting “every song has already been written, you just have to tune yourself in to the cosmic radio station.”

“I remember thinking from a very early age that my parents might have been aliens and I landed in an alien family like one of those on The Twilight Zone,” recalls Petty. “Even when I was really young, I knew that I was not like them at all. It was probably because TV had come into the picture when I was three or four. I loved the television so much. It would go off at night and sometimes I would wait for it to come on. I knew in there was a world that was not like anything like the one I was in. I figured that was the correct one."

But more than just plugging in to that cosmic consciousness and downloading songs, there's a sense of the musician foretelling the future in his songs. In 2002, he released the scathing indictment against the music industry The Last DJ, and years later he had his own XM radio show (Buried Treasure, on XM 40 every Monday at 10AM EST). Most recently he wrote a song on Highway Companion called “Ankle Deep" about a thoroughbred horse that breaks his leg in a big race, presaging Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro's career-ending injury by a whole year. But his strange powers aren't just limited to his songs—the genesis of the Wilburys occurred when he almost ran his car into ELO and Move founder Jeff Lynne's sedan on a quiet Thanksgiving morning in Los Angeles, just a week after meeting Lynne and George Harrison during a rare hurricane in London. “I knew that hurricane meant my life was going to change," explains Petty. And it did, nudging him a little further down that karmic path when he and his daughter Aidra felt compelled to pull into a French restaurant after a long day of Christmas shopping, as another future Traveling Wilbury George Harrison was asking for Petty's phone number.

“My little coupling with Jeff and George was so cosmic. It was so damn strange when I ran into Jeff. I didn't live in that neighborhood when I left on tour, and neither did Jeff. He moved into it when I was gone. We had spent almost every night together along with George [Harrison] when I was in England a few weeks before so I didn't expect to see him stopped at a light in Los Angeles. We pulled over and talked, and decided to meet the next day. But that's not nearly as odd as when I was Christmas shopping with my daughter about a week later and we decided to eat at this French restaurant that she loved for lunch—something we never ever did. I went in and sat down and the waiter said that there was a friend of mine in a private room they had and he would like to see me and it was George. He said, ‘this is so strange, I was writing your number down from Jeff and they told me you were in the next room.’ He came home with me and we spent the holiday together and became good friends."

While many people would be daunted in the presence of a former Beatle, Petty isn’t easily intimidated. Perhaps it has something to do with meeting Elvis on the set of Follow that Dream in 1961, (later magnified in his own “Running Down A Dream") when he was only 11, but more than likely Petty’s fearlessness comes from living with his abusive father, Earl Petty.
“I never felt safe as a child. There is so much about my dad looking back that I like but I was so afraid of him. My father was such loose a cannon I was never too at ease around him. He was very verbally abusive and I took refuge in the music—rock 'n' roll was my safe place," explains Petty, leaning forward in his seat, matter-of-factly discussing a subject that has caused him no small amount of pain over the decades.

What Petty couldn't say to his father, he channeled into his songs, creating a world where if he didn't feel safe, he certainly felt in control. Songs like “I Won't Back Down," “Don't Do Me Like That," “Into the Great Wide Open" and “I Need To Know," speak volumes about the necessity of not only doing things his way, but to reinvent himself in the process, with a myriad of images of fleeing, falling and starting over that reoccur over and over in his canon, culminating in what are perhaps his most salient words to the wise: “Comin' down is the hardest thing."

“You think I don't know that everyone calls me a control freak?" he laughs, tapping his thin fingers against the side of the barstool where he's perched. “If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, if we're Kentucky Fried Chicken, I'm the colonel on the bucket. This whole thing has my name on it, and ultimately I'm responsible, so I want things presented the way I see them."

And he sees a lot. Like the time he thought he spotted three UFOs circling above Pacific Coast Highway on an irrepressibly sunny June afternoon in 2004, and one of the reasons the musician rarely gets behind the wheel of his three cars anymore—despite naming his latest solo album Highway Companion.

“The real reason I can't drive is because the last two times I drove I had accidents. It just came down as a rule that I am not allowed behind the wheel. I like to drive, but after that last time, I knew I had scared my wife."

It's not clear whether it was the actual accident, or the fact that Petty swore that he had spotted aliens—yes THAT again—which unnerved Dana. “My wife and her friend and I were going to go to dinner. They needed something and I said I would go to the store and get it. As I was coming back I saw three enormous silver balls floating in the sky. What was even stranger was there were these two helicopters making a big circle around the three balls. People were pulled over on the road pointing. I ran in the house and yelled to Dana and her friend, ‘Get in the car, let's go. You have got to come see this!' They were laughing at me and then we pulled up on the highway and both said, ‘Oh holy shit.' I had them convinced that they were UFOs. But when we got a lot closer we could see that there was a thin wire attached to them and that they were only balloons. Then I realized that Adam Sandler was getting married at Dick Clark’s house, which is not too far down the road, and they probably launched these balloons so that the helicopters couldn't photograph the wedding. Right when I realized this, I go to turn the car around and I crashed into an oncoming car and nearly killed two people. If that wasn't bad enough, as I pulled off the road, I landed in a nest of 150 paparazzi that were covering the Sandler wedding. My car is just swarmed with cameras and I had to get out see how the poor girl that I hit was. I gave her a big hug and told her that I would pay for everything. But I didn't necessarily want to see that on national TV.”

The fact that Petty doesn't drive anymore doesn’t seem to bother him much. A rather odd sidenote considering cars—and car radios—have played a big part of his existence, showing up in the lyrics of many of his songs and acting as the uniting force between a young man and his dreams. It was a car—well a van, really—that led to fulfilling his own destiny, leaving Gainesville, Florida with his bandmates in 1974 to Los Angeles after following a tip that the streets of LA were lined with recording contracts. Changing location certainly changed his luck–sheer audacity and a record label receptionist who thought the bandmembers were cute resulted in the soon-to-be Heartbreakers being offered a deal for a single by London Records. Another cross country trip found them in a Tulsa, Oklahoma studio with famed Brit producer Denny Cordell, recording a single (“Depot Street") as Mudcrutch, before that outfit broke apart—only to be reborn as the Heartbreakers the next year, a name that Cordell suggested, and everyone liked except Petty. To this day he thinks that the King Bees is a much preferable name.

The possibilities of the open road show up in at least one or two songs on each of the Heartbreakers’ nine albums, starting with “American Girl," a song Petty wrote in a tiny apartment in Encino. “It was right next to the freeway and the cars sometimes sounded like waves from the ocean, which is why there's the line about the waves crashing on the beach. This song marked the start of me writing about people who are longing for something else in life and are determined to get it."

It was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
She could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashing on the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach

In a Pettyian universe, the highway is the best conduit for fulfilling those dreams, and what ties many of his songs together is the beckoning road. The best Heartbreaker songs are a call to action, the core belief being that if you change your surroundings you can change your life. At their best, they function as a self-help guide for the disaffected, the temporarily lost, or for those who have the guts to want more.

It's this very quality that makes Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers endure. They hold up a fractured mirror for the rest of us, a mirror that reflects back some of our less favorable angles. With Petty, you believe that he may have actually suffered some of the same indignities and frustrations as everyone else. He's one of the few rock stars who really does put his money where his mouth is—in fact his whole career is colored by his convictions and combative nature. Something he continues to prove whether it's taking the Red Hot Chili Peppers to task over commandeering “Mary Jane's Last Dance," riff for their current “Dani California" single (not-so-coincidentally both produced by Rick Rubin) or polarizing some of his fan base after he prevented George W. Bush from using “I Won't Break Down" as his 2000 campaign song—and later performing the song at Vice President Gore's house in Washington D.C. an hour after Gore conceded the election to Bush.

One thing that seems to bind all Heartbreaker fans together is that they believe that the band is speaking for them. “I have people approach me on the streets and say, ‘thanks for writing the soundtrack to my life.’ I can't tell you how good that makes me feel as a songwriter," says Petty. That is, unless the particular song that a fan loves is a painful memory. “Last year we went out with the Black Crowes and every night Kate Hudson would go ‘please play ‘Room at the Top.’ I never said it to her but it would be a cold day in hell before I play that. Sometimes it is easier to say things [in songs] if you can slide into someone else's character. I’m sure novelists do it all the time, they can invent characters and say all sorts of things. It wasn't like that with ‘Room At The Top.’ Things were so bad in my life when I was making Echo that there's songs I don't even remember writing,” he admits.

Out of Petty’s canon, perhaps one song defines him the most: “‘I Won't Back Down' is purely me. That song frightened me when I wrote it. I didn't embrace it at all. It's so obvious. I thought it wasn't that good because it was so naked. So I had a lot of second thoughts about recording that song. But everyone around me liked the song and said it was really good and it turns out everyone was right—more people connect to that song than anything I ever wrote. I've had so many people tell me that it helped them through this or it helped them through that. I'm still continually amazed about the power a little three-minute song has."

Aging has been on the musician's mind a lot lately. “This album has very few love songs, and seems fairly focused on the passage of time," he says. “I think a lot about what time I have left and what kind of mark I want to leave. But I know I have to keep doing it or I wouldn't know what to do. [Though] I might quit the road. I think I’ve had enough of that—but I haven't had enough of playing. "

“I’ve been such a nut I wonder how long I'm gonna live sometimes,” he continues. “I’ve just lived so hard. My kids call me the pirate. They go, ‘you’re just an old pirate, you and your friends, you’re so rough.’ I’ve lived hard and gotten a lot out of life. I sure took an adult portion."
But his two daughters contend that their father has mellowed somewhat in his fifth decade.
“My kids say that I am really cool as an old man. They tell me, ‘Age is good on you because you’re wiser and more fun.' I hope they're right. I know I'm not as bad as I used to be. I could get so angry [before]. I don't think I’m like that as much—but I still have my moments, especially with business. But I think I’m more at peace—at least I hope I am."

Tom Petty: Into the great wide open

2006-07-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

MALIBU, Calif. — While getting his 14th studio album off the ground, Tom Petty happily discovered he was past the point of learning to fly. "All the craft I've picked up and all the life experience I've had rolled into a place where making records is easier," he says. "If I get an idea, I know how to put it down. When I was a kid, that was the struggle. Now I can do what rolls through my head without a lot of effort. It validates the idea of being in rock 'n' roll when you're 55. I feel, what's the word?"

REVIEW: Companion travels well (Click here)

He frowns, then brightens.

"Relevant!" he says, erupting into laughter.

"I feel like there's a reason to buy another Tom Petty record. Once you've put out 10 or 12, is there a reason to make more? In any job, you eventually ask yourself, 'What's the point?' I feel I still have something to say and something to contribute."

He's relieved and surprised to find himself in this spot 30 years after he and The Heartbreakers released their debut album.

Since then, the band has sold more than 50 million albums globally while cementing a reputation as inventive rock traditionalists with unyielding integrity and commitment.

Despite nursing a toothache, Petty is unusually buoyant as he discusses his third solo disc, Highway Companion, out today. First single Saving Grace is No. 1 on triple-A and classic rock radio charts. In this digital age of one-track buys, he has built another carefully sequenced song cycle, a sparse but textured soundscape slashed by Mike Campbell's sterling slide guitar and overlaid by Petty's tales of searching, escaping and yearning.

"These characters are all on the move, leaving home, going home, wondering where home is," Petty says. "It's not a real loud record or an all-out rock fest. It's quieter but not mellow. I wanted to make this for a long time. It's not a record I could have made in the '70s. I wasn't seasoned enough."

Ensconced in a dressing room at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, Petty fetches a bottled Coke after stubbing out a Camel. A few creases betray his years, but his look has altered little over the decades: wispy blond hair, faded jeans, scarf and loafers, a sly grin.
He's proud of Highway, a close-knit collaboration with co-producers Jeff Lynne and Campbell, the only other players on the album. Petty revised his writing habits, approaching melodies only after painstakingly finishing lyrics and completing songs before entering the studio. He played guitar, bass, harmonica, keyboards, even drums.

"We were like young kids," Petty says. "We never hit any bumps. Wildflowers (1994) was good, but it was a lot of trial and error. A lot got thrown away. This didn't seem like work."
His joy today sharply contrasts the pressures that clouded recent projects. The Last DJ, 2002's concept album that took aim at music industry greed, drew heat from all corners of the business.
"Yeah, I got beaten up pretty good and halfway expected to be," Petty says. "At that point in my life, I had gotten so upset about all that stuff, and I had a lot to say. It was a relief to have it out of my head. I knew it wasn't going to be popular at the record company, but I think it will stand the test of time."

He's less enamored with 1999's Echo, which opens with the grim Room at the Top, "one of the most depressing songs in rock history," Petty says, grinning.
"If anything will make you want to kill yourself ..."

He trails off, then adds glumly, "I was in a rough place when I did that record."

Depleted by divorce and other personal blows, Petty opted for a hermitic existence in a ramshackle Los Angeles hideaway.

"I had some long periods of severe depression," he says. "I took some hard knocks and retreated from the world and lived in this little cabin. I didn't see a lot of people. I wasn't happy, and I didn't want to lay that on everybody.

"Even when I was in public, I didn't want to be there, and that's a terrible feeling. It took me a while to want to come back."

Petty, who says he maintains very few close friendships, also was crushed by the deaths of best buddy George Harrison in 2001 and Howie Epstein, who overdosed on heroin in 2003 shortly after being fired from The Heartbreakers.

Petty's saving grace was Dana York, whom he married in 2001.

"She saved me from going down the tubes," he says. "She got me to a good place where I did want to rejoin society and keep going. I've got a great girl, and she's strong. It took a strong person to deal with me at that point.

"It got pretty dire. I had a lot of repair work to do with my family and children. I had to grow up in a lot of ways. If you do this all your life, you don't have a normal experience. The rock 'n' roll lifestyle does not encourage you to be responsible. I'm still sorting it out, but I'm on better ground."

Little can deflate Petty's mood these days. He's blasé on the talk about unmistakable similarities between his 1993 rocker Mary Jane's Last Dance and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' current Dani California. It's not grand theft, he says. Possibly Petty larceny?

"I don't know if they stole it or not," he says. "It's their cross to bear, not mine. That one does sound particularly close in meter and chord and even subject matter. I think it's odd that Rick Rubin produced both records and never noticed it when my gardener did. I won't sue, but I wouldn't mind if they cut me in for a piece."

He laughs and adds, "I sometimes hear my stuff in other songs, and I don't get that upset because I do the same thing. You don't set out to steal something, but there are only so many notes and chords."

It's little surprise that artists deliberately or subliminally lift from Petty's hit-heavy catalog, says Paul Zollo, author of Conversations with Tom Petty, the first exhaustive overview of the rocker's career.

"He's had so many powerful hits, but he's never contrived hits to get on charts," Zollo says. "His songs are about solid songwriting, craftsmanship, inventive lyrics and tremendous musicianship. It's never about trends and fitting into one time. He had an authentic rock 'n' roll dream and realized it without getting derailed in a way so many musicians were.

"More significantly, he had a burst of greatness in his 20s, but unlike so many others, he continued to create music with substance and meaning, and sustained that quality over decades. He's certainly in the pantheon."

A reluctant elder statesman, Petty claims to have little understanding of the industry's modern machinery and doubts he'd survive the rigorous media drills imposed on newbies.

Band websites may be cool, but music on the Internet is "so vast and unfocused," he says. "It's impossible to keep up. I miss the idea of record stores."

He's encouraged that music lovers are digging up the past for inspired sounds, but he believes the beloved rock 'n' roll that set fire to his youth has gone the way of jazz and blues and is no longer a driving force in pop music.

As a kid in the '60s, he reveled in '50s rock. He still looks back, marinating in "the beautiful purity" of Chess label blues and rooting out even older fare he may have overlooked.

Likewise, he's a Turner Classic Movies junkie, favoring Howard Hawks and John Ford and sophisticated '40s films.

But that's a luxury his music obsession rarely accommodates. His wife leans on him to slow down, and he might curtail touring duties — to make more records.

"There's rumor that I'm not going to tour anymore," he says. "I don't think that's true, but I'd like to take a long break. I have recording projects I want to do, and that's going to last longer than the shows. I love playing, but it eats up so much of your life.

"I'm really conscious of wasting time. It's funny when you realize there are time limits. I'm impatient now with anything that gets in the way of what I want to do. I want to get everything down. Why would I want to do anything else? Rock 'n' roll is such a good job."

Highway Companion Review

2006-07-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

By Brian Heisler

It's one for the vault. Tom Petty's new Highway Companion is exactly that, a great highway companion. Just like he has done his whole career, Petty put together a collection of short, catchy rock tunes, perfect to cruise to on a summer day or to play on guitar by yourself around a camp fire. The cover art plays with the album title as well, with an astronaut holding the hand of a monkey as the two approach a fictional rocket ready for launch, all of which is set off by the bright blue sky and orange desert sand background, somewhat reminiscent of the surreal cover of the Allman Brothers Band's Eat A Peach. The intriguing art will make for great posters on dorm room walls someday soon. With titles such as "Turn This Car Around," "Big Weekend," "Night Driver," and "This Old Town," from the outside, the album seems like a compilation found at an oasis gas station. It might seem easy to overlook another album this late in the career of a musician whose first record hit store shelves 30 years ago, but give Highway Companion a chance and it just might be the reason to go dig back into that legendary TP collection or perhaps to start a new one.

In his first release since 2002's The Last DJ, Petty plays the role of the heartbreaker, leaving the Heartbreakers band behind and making this his first solo effort since 1994's two-time Grammy-winning Wildflowers. Petty can be heard not only on guitar and vocals, but also drums, harmonica, piano, bass, and keyboards. The first single, "Saving Grace," begins the album and reminds us that Tom Petty can definitely still rock. "Saving Grace" would have been a notable song on any Petty album, not just the latest fad. Song styles resemble the classic Petty genre ranging from the slow, somber solo track "Square One" to the poppy "Jack" to the electric twang of "Turn This Car Around." The first and fifth tracks, "Saving Grace" and "Jack," stick out as the two songs that listeners will remember after their first spin of the album. If nothing else, Highway Companion may be noted in the future for those two tracks. The album slows down a bit in the second half, not quite living up to its more varied beginning. "The Golden Rose" fades out the album much more subtly than it starts, sending the listener off with a loss of innocence in the words, "Yeah it's goodbye golden rose." Even 30 years into it, the great songwriter still seems to be "Damaged By Love," as the ninth track's title claims, resounding throughout much of the album and punched at the very end.

After a tour that bills Trey Anastasio, Pearl Jam, The Allman Brothers, John Mayer, and The Strokes, it's hip to be a Tom Petty fan once again. The tour is a suggestion, but the new album is a reaffirmation that Tom Petty is not just tying the ends of a great career, but in fact continuing to write the legacy. The songwriting and arrangement are great as always, perfectly wide open to the listener. What might be more impressive is the fact that Petty's voice still rings richly and wraps around the music just as it did in 1976. Some artists are great simply because they do not write bad songs, Tom Petty is one of those artists. While some tracks are better than others on Highway Companion, there is no reason to hit the skip button. It's another volume from the Hall-of-Famer that will be played from front to back like one long ballad. So feel free to put Tom Petty back on your list of "must sees" again.

Highway Companion Review

2006-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

iFmagazineBy: CARL CORTEZ

TOM PETTY - HIGHWAY COMPANION
Suggested Retail Price: $18.98
Album Release Date: July 25, 2006

If there is a rock and roll savior out there, you have to look no further than Tom Petty. For thirty years, Petty and his band the Heartbreakers have defied convention, trumped trends and continued to produce albums that never age and still sound as vital as the day they were recorded.

And as Petty has continued to prove, album after album, his knack for hooks is a gift few artists know how to sustain. Not to sound cheesy, but he is an American original. With HIGHWAY COMPANION (due in stores next week), his third solo album away from the Heartbreakers, Petty has hit another home run out of the park and delivered one of the best album's of the year, if not his greatest release this decade.

A collection of 12 songs that run the gamut of rock, blues, surf guitar and folk, it’s the kind of album that rarely finds its way on record shelves these days in that each song is its own story and contains its own unique musical tapestry. It doesn’t grow dull with each repeated listening, it actually grows on you as the nuances and subtitles Petty has layered into the disc (with assist from producer Jeff Lynne and Heartbreaker guitarist Mike Campbell) come to the fore.

Kicking the album off to a rousing start is "Saving Grace," a swamp boogie that grows in intensity as it progresses. Song two, "Square One," shifts gears quickly to a heartfelt ballad, one of Petty’s sweetest in years. From there, it’s one great track after another including "Flirting with Time" (a solid rock single with a killer hook), "Down South" (which hearkens back to "Southern Accents") and "Turn This Car Around" (which builds to an intense crescendo by song's end).

The title HIGHWAY COMPANION does feel conceptual in feel, style and scope and it couldn’t be more appropriate since these songs sound great piping through your car stereo as you speed down the highway. While Petty’s last disc THE LAST D.J. was a bit more forthcoming in its overall "concept," wisely Petty hasn't said "concept album" in the press and has left it to the listener to decipher the complete whole.

The "highway" and "road" is no stranger to Petty’s repertoire either, from "Love is a Long Road," to "King’s Highway," his music has always felt like heartland rock for the lonesome driver needing some comfort music and it’s nice to have an album that goes gung-ho with that vibe.
While it’s still unclear why HIGHWAY COMPANION is a Petty solo album (except for the fact that he plays a bulk of the instruments), the album is a bit more introspective and softer than his previous efforts. Aside from the foot-stoppin’ beat of the opening track, the rest of the album consists of mid-tempo tunes and ballads, so the rocker Petty unleashes when he’s with the Heartbreakers is not as prevalent this time around.

By that same token, when artists go solo, there usually is a different muse at work, or it affords a chance at experimentation. But both 1989's FULL MOON FEVER (also produced by Lynne) and 1994's WILDFLOWERS never really seemed like standalone efforts, but a continuation of Petty’s overall work. FULL MOON FEVER still remains one of Petty’s crowning achievements both commercially and creatively, but a true solo effort is stretching things when Petty is Petty whether he’s backed by himself or his group.

While Petty’s relevancy in a world filled with American Idol’s is still to be determined, but when he can create an album as vibrant and exciting as HIGHWAY COMPANION, audiences will discover it, in spite of current trends and radio’s one-hit wonder mentality. After all, Johnny Cash managed to have a number 1 album with AMERICAN V: A HUNDRED HIGHWAYS two weeks ago, which proves there is an audience for intelligent, catchy and original music. Petty may still not get the credit he so rightfully deserves, but when you have a body of music as rich and timeless as his, all you have to do is keep on rockin.’ After all, as that famous line from FIELD OF DREAMS goes, "If you build it, they will come."

Highway Companion - A Fan's Review

2006-07-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

By Lissa ProbusTom Petty Fan

On 7/17/06, Lissa Probus reviewed Highway Companion with a little help from her friends at GoneGator Radio. Thanks, Sean!

This album is more philosophical and sweeter than I expected...As a native of the Heartbreaker's era, I was seven when the first album came out. I associate Tom Petty with raw sentiment, rocking beats and a sense of humble greatness. With hits like Breakdown and Something in the Air, to Mary Jane's Last Dance and American Girl, the Heartbreaker’s have held their own from Ford to Bush II. In this third solo release, Tom Petty still knows who he is, and a whole new generation is about to discover that for themselves. These songs don’t push for rebellion or political unrest, but they call for a personal inquiry into rightness and power. For Tom Petty, the road is always open to greater things, and love is around every corner, in both directions. Each of these songs is crafted with skill and truth, playing the roles of the rock and roll major arcana in style.

Saving Grace rolls with the bigger sounds and pictures typical of the Wilburys, but Petty’s storytelling is stylistically clear and his visuals rustic. Sparking with rock and roll grind – this one avoids bitter but not without a little of the Mr. Jones flavor. This danceable tune lives up to this era with a call for self-evaluation and grounding.

Square One is pure Petty with an innocence and hope that we keep coming back for. The gentle sounds of this song will lull the wake up of the American scene with a slow slide guitar and a sweet tune to fall in love with all over again.

Flirting With Time reminds us that time catches up with us all, and Tom calls to us to take responsibility for the world we live in with this catchy number. This song opens with a death and a reference to a last dance. A seventies bending guitar carries the message off in style, with a rhythm and melody that push the edge of cynicism, Like the earlier (Don’t Have) A Wasted Life (1982), this song reminds us to live every minute with an eye for the future.

Down South is reminiscent and reverent. "If I come to your door" – The line of the main chorus, pulls heartstrings for nostalgia and hospitality. For all of its familiar affection, this story line is a little wrapped in southern stereotype, "I'll give you all I have and a little more." speaks for the South in timely notes,

Jack is a snapping rhythm love song that hosts a sweet sentiment and a sweeter lyrical treatment by Tom, with a drumming and diving guitar solo. Another song that speaks of innocent and possessive young love, the groovy naked electric guitar sound is so late sixties you can swim to it.
Turn This Car Around is another hip mover with an impressionist storyline and a driving electric guitar. The clean sound grows with memory stimulating shifts from the big sound to the ballad. "The King and Queen are loaded..." and "I'm going back" are just some of the lyrics that compliment a sliding, climbing guitar with a call for personal action at this point in history.

Big Weekend Is a traveler’s story, and repeats the small town picture book. The suburban scene suggests a Greendale reference (Neil Young), but Petty just rolls out a good time with out preaching. The whole attitude of this piece is casual, with a message to travel light and learn the language where you are going.

Night Driver lets us listen in to the California commute and the feel of worn tires on the Pacific Coastal Highway. The lyrical picture here might have clambakes and skyscrapers in it too. A growing song, direct references like “The new King hides behind the throne, refusing to be crowned” give a clue to the decay of authority and risks of squandered power. Those of us who know the story of Tom's relocation to LA might feel him gazing at the edge of the yard here. The rising melody with a beach party rhythm backdrop grooves us just as it suggests the greatness at rest here.

Damaged by Love is a ballad story of another lost girl on the long, long road. Soulful but not mourning, this song also speaks of loneliness with a sweet slide guitar on the side. Most of the songs on this album speak of speak of maturity, but this one speaks of youth and the fragile feelings of love. The imagery here is dreamy and the music romantic, with guitar effects and building chords that convey the passion of the post- ingénue.

This Old Town makes us wonder if Tom is tired of Los Angeles, "This old town is a sad affair..." speaks of anonymity and work but the line, "Its on Ice, but it won't keep,” suggests energy ready for release and limits of staying too long where you are comfortable.

Ankle Deep starts with a story about a horse – then a stolen horse, and a fall – it could be about this year’s Triple Crown, or it could be about the race of falling in love and the falls on that track that wait for us all. With notes on family relationships and unending ties, it is a solid tune like American girl with American images

The Golden Rose is a goodbye song, slow and epic, it gives a mystical sense of loss and greatness. The big sounds and slide guitar return in this track, supporting a steady vocal and a mystical keyboard refrain that floats like the dreams of an abandoned lover.

Jeff Lynne (of the Traveling Wilburys, Full Moon Fever, 1989 and Wildflowers, 1994) co-produced this album, and like Tom’s other solo work, the professionalism is strong without blurring the outlines of a southern silhouette. Petty’s characters are real, his focus cast on the American way of life most of us work hard for, and his compassion genuine. The stories he tells are kind even when they are honest. There is no judgment here, but experience speaks for itself. As a whole, the album is not a call for running away, but a map for how to get going on to better things.

With Neil Young’s open anti-war lyrics (Living with War, 2006), and Bob Dylan on the road again this summer, Tom Petty is not the senior in a cast of tour experts leading the old gaurd through the first decade of a new millennia. Still, really, the kid from down the block, Tom Petty always tries a little harder and seems a little more like one of the guys you went to school with. Highway Companion is not out of reach in any way. You can feel every song on this album with familiar pride. Danceable, empowering and right on point, this work represents a mature artistry without any of the exclusivity of the instigator or the broken hearted.

First Highway Companion Review

2006-07-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

By Patrick LuceMonsters & Critics - Glasgow, U.K.

Tom Petty fans rejoice because the rocker is back with his third solo studio album ‘Highway Companion.’ The album consists of 12 tracks that are perfect for a road trip and live up to the classic guitar rock sound that fans of Petty have loved for years.

‘Highway Companion’ finds Petty once again teaming with musicians Jeff Lynne (who produced the album and was a member of the Traveling Wilburys band with Petty) and Mike Campbell (longtime guitarist for Petty and the Heartbreakers).

The album features a stripped down studio rock sound closer to the sound that Petty did on 1989’s ‘Full Moon Fever’ than the singer’s follow-up solo album ‘Wildflowers’ in 1994. All of the songs were once again written by Petty, and the singer/songwriter also played rhythm guitar, drums, harmonica, electric piano, bass, and lead guitar and provided lead and backing vocals on the album’s various tracks.

‘Highway Companion’ (which Petty describes as being about the passing of time) is filled with the type of rock songs that one would expect from Petty, and never strays too far from the formula of song writing that made him a rock icon. It kicks off with the “blues heavy” track “Saving Grace” – with lyrics that set the tone for the whole album.

The song is simply the perfect way to start a rock album, and you will be in love with ‘Highway Companion’ before Petty finishes the track. This is a heavy blues song filled with guitar riffs similar to “Running Down a Dream” or something off a Bo Diddley album. Petty keeps other parts of the album bluesy with tracks like “Jack,” “Turn This Car Around,” and “This Old Town.”

“Flirting with Time” and “Down South” are reminiscent of work done by Petty and the Heartbreakers on albums like ‘Echo’ and ‘Into the Great Wide Open.’ Tracks like “Big Weekend” and “Ankle Deep” seem influenced by Petty’s work with the Traveling Wilburys.

Petty then slows things down with tracks like “Square One” and “Damaged by Love” which features the songwriter’s unique ability to craft lyrics that seem simple and profound at the same time. If you were not hooked by the end of the first track, “Square One” will win you over.

If you are a fan of Tom Petty’s solo work or his work with the Heartbreakers then you will want this album. It is a good blend of all the influences throughout Petty’s career, and every song is a hit. Petty packs the album full of guitar driven rock, catchy lyrics, and choruses that have good enough hooks to keep you singing them after one listen.

I would highly recommend the album to any fan of Petty. While ‘Full Moon Fever’ remains my favorite solo album of his, ‘Highway Companion’ maintains the level of quality that you expect out of the singer and can stand against any of his earlier releases.

‘Highway Companion’ is now available for pre-order at Amazon for a July 25th release.

Not Tom's Last Interview

2006-07-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

In response to the quote in the recent Rolling Stone article... "this is it for me ... this is the last interview I'm doing for a long time." I feel Neil Strauss might have misunderstood me by "this is it." I meant it was the last of a long string of interviews I had been doing over the past month to promote Highway Companion and "for a long time" I meant for the length of the tour I was going on in a few days. It was just an aside. I should have explained myself in more detail - I certainly intend to speak with media in the future, especially concerning my new CD Highway Companion.
Sorry for the confusion folks.
Peace - Tom Petty

Not a complaint, Petty or otherwise

2006-07-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News

Tom Petty is in danger of becoming the prisoner of his own hits.

At first on Sunday night it seemed like he'd finally succumbed. With an elaborate stage setting and one of the best bands in the world backing him, Petty seemed content to glide from one perfectly delivered radio hit to the next: Listen to Her Heart, I Won't Back Down, Free Fallin', Last Dance With Mary Jane, etc.

The Heartbreakers can play the heck out of those songs, but that's the point - they already have. Was this to be just a rehash of Petty's last seven appearances at Red Rocks, with fancier lights and more technology? An hour later you feel dumb for even thinking that thought.

Oh, there still were plenty of hits, and often you couldn't hear Petty sing because the crowd handled the vocals. While I'd still trade 100 versions of Refugee to hear Change of Heart or It'll All Work Out in concert again, Petty more than made up for it. It was a trip through past and future, and while the hits are great, the offbeat moments were insanely good.

The band showed its influences, covering the Yardbirds' version of I'm a Man and Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well; the latter gave guitarist Mike Campbell (in some dreadlock rasta style phase) to show yet another song he can effortlessly devastate with manic yet precise guitar solos.

Learning to Fly was given a tender, slow acoustic treatment, stripped of Jeff Lynne's studio gloss. The Traveling Wilburys' Handle With Care was sublime as always. But I don't know if I've ever heard an arena explode the way it did when Petty brought Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder out to handle the vocals on The Waiting. It would be madness not to issue that live version through iTunes immediately.

Saving Grace was a John Lee Hooker-style blues vamp of isolation and searching from the upcoming album, Highway Companion. The song shows that, like his peers Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, Petty has the ability and will to continue to write great songs.

The Heartbreakers draw from all forms of music (rock, folk, surf, pop, country) and create a sound like no one else. They never stop pushing, such as when keyboard player Benmont Tench found new places for fills in Running Down a Dream.

The band is a true American musical treasure, the likes of which we may never see again. I'll happily be there next time around - even if it's nothing but greatest hits.

PETTY TURNS BLIND EYE TO CHILI PEPPERS 'PLAGIARISM'

2006-06-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the heads up Laurie! (Click for the HOT Music Goddess's Page)

LATEST: Rocker TOM PETTY has vowed to turn a blind eye to allegations the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS plagiarised one of his songs. The band stood accused of lifting key aspects of their latest single DANI CALIFORNIA from Petty's MARY JANE'S LAST DANCE, most publicly by US DJ DAN GAFFNEY who said, "The chord progression, the melody, the tempo, the key, the lyrical theme. they're identical." It was rumoured the veteran singer would sue - but he insists he'd only consider a lawsuit if the track was stolen "note for note". Petty tells PageSix.com, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike.

Ask CHUCK BERRY. THE STROKES took AMERICAN GIRL (for their song LAST NITE), and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you'. "If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe (I'd sue). But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous law suits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Celebrate their Pearl Anniversary

2006-06-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

By: David Schultz
Earvolution

When compiling a shortlist of the greatest rock bands of the last thirty years, it's quite likely that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers wouldn't make the cut. However, next time a classic Petty song comes on the radio; take note: not only will you probably sing along, you'll know all the words.

To celebrate their thirtieth anniversary and the impending release of Petty's latest solo album, Highway Companion, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are taking their enduring brand of stoner southern rock on the road. This past week, Petty & The Heartbreakers came to Madison Square Garden for their first New York City appearance in three years. Cherry picking from three decades of hits, the Manhattan crowd continuously sang along with Petty while he ran through a set list that, even in the absence of beloved tunes like "The Waiting" and "Breakdown," didn't suffer for recognizable classics.

Fresh off of their co-headlining stint at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Petty played under a set of video screens that provided distracting close-ups of the band throughout the night.

Given the relatively good sightlines in the Garden, they were unnecessary; only serving to provoke discussion as to whether the 55-year-old Petty once portrayed Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears. After opening with the early-era "Listen To Her Heart," the band went right into "You Don't Know How It Feels," marking their first but hardly last foray into Petty's stellar solo material. While egotistic on the surface, the Heartbreakers contributed significantly to Petty's individually-titled efforts, making their inclusion into the show quite appropriate. Petty's 1989 solo album Full Moon Fever received the most attention; the crowd drowning out Petty's voice on the choruses of "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down" and doing a little hippie headbanging to "Runnin' Down A Dream." In addition to the smoothly rendered reading of "You Don't Know It Feels," they went back to Wildflowers for the encore, an energetic version of "You Wreck Me" that far exceeded its studio counterpart.

Petty spent a portion of the show reclaiming old songs and old melodies: offering a twangy version of the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care," recently covered by Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst and others, as well as a scorching rendition of "Mary Jane's Last Dance," in which he laid ownership to the guitar line allegedly purloined by Red Hot Chili Peppers for "Dani, California." However, if Petty is truly upset over the similarities between his 1981 hit and the Red Hot's new single, he should perhaps take a look in the proverbial mirror to see if he's a pot calling the Peppers' kettle black; Petty's new single "Saving Grace," seems to borrow just as heavily from John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom."

Perhaps influenced by his recent time at this year's Bonnaroo, Petty sought the crowd's approval to "jam a little bit" in their encore. While they didn't take that moment to experiment with interminable noodling, Petty & The Heartbreakers zipped through a medley-type jam that borrowed as much from the Isley Brothers' "Shout" as it did from Them's "Mystic Eyes." Always eclectic with their covers, Petty nodded to the band's influences earlier in the show; putting down his guitar in favor of a tambourine and maracas while the Heartbreakers quickly ran through The Yardbirds' "I'm A Man" and pre-Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well."
Often overshadowed by Petty's subtle superstar status, The Heartbreakers remain an exceptionally tight band, responsible for some of the more subtly ubiquitous songs of a generation. From within his cube of keyboards, Benmont Tench had chances to solo, excelling on the greasy bridge of "Refugee." More than Petty's equal on the guitar, Mike Campbell ceded the center stage guitar theatrics to Petty, throwing off his guitar riffs with modest aplomb. Petty's rhythm section, made up of original Heartbreaker Ron Blair, who returned to the band after a lengthy absence on The Last DJ, and Steve Ferrone, formerly of the Average White Band, toiled admirably in relative anonymity. Likewise, Scott Thurston offered additional guitar, keyboards and the occasional harmonica solo in yeoman fashion.

As she has for the early shows in the tour, Stevie Nicks, the band's "little sister," joined Petty & The Heartbreakers for a reprise of their 1981 hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and took lead on Petty's own "I Need To Know." Wearing a new outfit, Nicks returned a couple songs longer to duet with Petty on a quiet version of the introspective "Insider." Once the ruling earth-mother of seventies rock and roll, Nicks, who thankfully no longer looks like she possesses her own gravitational field, seemed content with a supporting role, singing background far to the right of the stage, spreading her arms wide while providing her distinctive harmony to "Learning To Fly."

Nicks wasn't the only notable name appearing with Petty at the Garden this evening. While fronting Phish, Trey Anastasio used to headline Madison Square Garden regularly; as a solo act, he’s become an illustrious opening act, returning to MSG for the first time since joining The Black Crowes for a memorable New Year's Eve show. Focusing his one hour set on newer songs, Anastasio offered solo faves like "Night Speaks To A Woman" and "Come As Melody" before concluding with a groove-heavy rendition of "First Tube." The fact that Anastasio didn't come back to join Petty & The Heartbreakers during their set might be the only disappointment of his Garden appearance.

Petty & The Heartbreakers have a catalogue broad enough to offer a different show each night. However, the set lists for the early shows have remained substantially similar. Fittingly for a show dedicated to their length career, Petty & The Heartbreakers have been finishing each show with their first true success, the arena anthem "American Girl." While the boys from Gainesville, Florida have had bigger hits, "American Girl" remains the song that tears the house down; the sinuous opening chords drawing raucous shrieks from all the American girls in attendance. Petty's traveling roadshow continues on throughout the summer. While Anastasio occupies himself with his own mini-tour with Phish bassist Mike Gordon and the Benevento Russo Duo for a highly anticipated slate of shows with Phil Lesh & Friends, Pearl Jam and The Allman Brothers Band should provide suitable alternatives in the supporting slot.

Workin' On A Mystery

2006-06-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Tom Petty, Heartbreakers commemorate 30 years of great Southern stories
By Helen A.S. PopkinMSNBC contributor

The Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers hit “American Girl” has an oft-repeated back story that, as a Florida native (like Petty), I’ve always wanted to believe was true.

As the legend goes, Gainesville-born Petty wrote it about a University of Florida coed who jumped to her death from the Beatty Towers dorm. One variation has the unnamed girl tripping on hallucinogens and attempting to fly. I prefer the version in which the coed is lucid, voluntarily shedding her mortal coil and filled with the invigoration suicides are said to have once they make the decision.

Since middle school, I’ve repeated this story to incredulous ears more times than I can remember — continuing to tell it even when I was too old to responsibly pass on such unfounded nonsense. Enter the Internet. Some time back, in an ADD moment, I googled the myth only to find that sadly, a myth is all it is.

It’s not that I want some girl to be dead. I’m just a sucker for good Southern ghost story, which with or without a suicide, “American Girl” remains. What soulless creature (who enjoys rock and roll music) doesn’t get chills every time the ringing guitar riff pops up on classic radio? Then there are the lyrics, and just as important, Petty’s phrasing: “And if she had to die/Trying she/Had one little promise she was gonna keep … ”

“American Girl” is so eerie, it was used to create atmosphere in “Silence of the Lambs,” and so fresh that it’s hard to believe the song came out in 1977. Yet this summer, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers celebrate their 30th anniversary by launching what is rumored to be the band’s last major tour. And in July, Petty releases “Highway Companion,” his third solo LP (and 18th overall). How scary is that?

Runnin’ down a dreamThroughout his long, successful career, Petty has been compared musically to the likes of the Byrds, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. But as “American Girl,” and the rest of his huge catalog reveal, this Florida boy hails from the same story-telling tradition as fellow Southerners Flannery O’Conner, Carson McCullers and Truman Capote. Like the best of their work, Petty’s songs create sparse, sharp images, with something desperate underneath.
“American Girl” is the only Petty hit that comes with a fan-generated urban legend (that I know about). But it’s one of many practically-perfect songs about Regular Joes and Josephines yearning to break free. If not from life, then the particular lives they happen to be living. Take just a few of the titles: “Breakdown,” “I Need to Know,” “Refugee,” “The Waiting,” “Running Down a Dream,” “Runaway Trains,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

The Heartbreakers sound is a deceptively simple roots rock hybrid. It echos garage rock, folk and pure pop while remaining wholly American and unique. (FYI: Petty shares his roots via his record collection on the XM Satellite Radio Show “Tom Petty’s Buried Treasures.”) Underneath the music, Petty’s Southern voice (both literal and literary) brings personas and characters to life. In “Spike,” he only needs one line to conjure a vivid scene of rednecks harassing some poor punk rock kid (“Hey, Spike/You’re scarin’ my wife”).

In Petty’s love songs, like the Carson McCullers story, the heart is always a lonely hunter. Take “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a song he recorded with Stevie Nicks. (Word to your mother — Nicks is performing with Petty on the Heartbreakers tour.) Here is a man so wounded by his lover, all he can do is beg her to stop. It ain’t quite Dylan, but it works.

Pack up the plantation

Unlike less fortunate talented artists (Hey, Paul Westerberg!), Petty’s songwriting gets the recognition and Grammys it deserves. In 1996, Petty received both the Golden Note Award from ASCAP and UCLA’s George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. In 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Petty even had a guest spot on the “Simpsons” playing himself as the song writing instructor at Homer’s rock star camp.

Achieving rock star status during MTV’s early days, Petty’s creativity transferred well to video. So much so that he received MTV’s Video Vanguard Award in 1994. Those old enough may cringe when remembering the Heartbreakers “You Got Lucky” video in which Petty and his crew travel a post-apocalyptic desert in some sort of Buckminster Fuller mobile ala “Mad Max.” It wasn’t a bad song. It wasn’t a bad video. But man, it seemed like MTV played it every five minutes. Better to remember the spooky “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” in which Petty, as the Mad Hatter, torments Alice in Wonderland before serving her as cake. Then there’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” in which Petty gussies up, then parties with a corpse (played by Kim Basinger). Now that’s good Southern Gothic!

Like the best storytellers, Petty easily translates his song’s stories on stage. He and the Heartbreakers still put on a great show. Over the years, the performance has transformed from youthful exuberance and boundless energy to the more theatrical. Though not widely thought of as one of the more politically vocal rock stars, Petty has used his concerts as an outlet for his views on the government. In a 1991 show, as the band played “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” three characters dressed as Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush (the father) chased Petty around the stage.

The first performances of the current tour lasted over two electric hours. A retrospective set list covers the best known Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers hits as well as Petty’s work with rock super group, the Traveling Wilburys, and songs from Petty’s upcoming “Highway Companion” LP. There are few surprises in the song choices — it is, after all, an anniversary tour. But as 30 years of touring show, Petty and the Heartbreakers concerts are never stale.

Ever the crowd-please, Petty is following tradition and closing shows with … what song? “American Girl,” of course. And for the two hours of music played to get there, the audience is always ready to explode when the final encore comes around. Like any great story, “American Girl” is one you can hear a million times, and still want to hear it a million more. The song may not have a ghost story behind it, but like Tom Petty, “American Girl” never seems to get old.

New York City-based writer Helen A.S. Popkin can’t help thinking there’s a little more to life, somewhere else.

Tom Petty: Still a Heartbreaker

2006-06-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

BY IRA ROBBINS
Special to Newsday

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ended Tuesday's show at the beginning, with "American Girl," the enduring contribution to skinny tie new wave music from their 1976 debut album. Some rockers of such vintage might be self-conscious about the connotations of a three-decade career, but Petty - who, at 55, still has his blond locks and his svelte figure - was never an icon of youth or rebellion. His values skirt such elements in tuneful electric pop that, since "American Girl" at least, have rarely been tied to a big idea or a particular era.

Free of such encumbrance, his achievement and endurance are markers of a well-built machine, not a fading legacy. The few new songs in a carefully constructed two-hour set were ladled gently into a parade of hits, some of them featuring old duet partner Stevie Nicks, who thoughtfully brought along enough gear for two costume changes.

Petty has never been the most forceful front man, but his top-notch band, led by guitarist Mike Campbell, buoys the laconic rocker to effortless agreeability. At only a couple of points, including a note-for-note reproduction of the Yardbirds' 1965 take on "I'm a Man" and the three songs leading up to the encore - "Don't Come Around Here No More," "Refugee" and "Runnin' Down a Dream" - were any fires set onstage. Campbell, sporting dreadlocks and facial hair, looked positively delighted to get excited; otherwise, Petty set the energy level on moderate, rendering sturdy tunes relieved of such traditional rock elements as sex, sweat and rebellion.

In their own way, Petty's songs reveal a deeply felt American sensibility. Without making any overt statements, he endorses freedom, perseverance, courage and recreational sedation.

Starting with "Listen to Her Heart" and "You Don't Know How It Feels" (the drug references in both, as well as in the subsequent "Mary Jane's Last Dance," might explain a surprising amount of unimpeded pot-smoking in the audience), Petty and the five Heartbreakers made it look and sound easy, with measured rhythms, gentle singing and a solid beat provided by Steve Ferrone.
With the homogenization of rock into safe, predictable entertainment, Petty is nothing if not a reliable crowd-pleaser, and he delivered it all: hits, covers, new tunes, genial remarks, the works. If the shapeless boogie of "Saving Grace" and the acoustic plainness of "Square One" offered a discouraging preview of his impending "Highway Companion" album, a pair of borrowed tunes ("I'm a Man" and the pre-Nicks Fleetwood Mac guitar rave-up "Oh Well") brought the past convincingly to life. Nicks joined in on their 1981 hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" as well as "I Need to Know" and "American Girl"; Petty's thoroughgoing retrospective even had room for the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care," during which Heartbreaker Scott Thurston gamely attempted the late Roy Orbison's part.

Trey Anastasio, the guitarist-singer late of Phish, opened the evening with an extremely long hour of cotton-wrapped rhythms, shapeless songs and aimless jams that was greeted by some of the most arrhythmic crowd dancing this side of "Barney and Friends."

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS. Thirty years of hits and no fouls. Seen at Madison Square Garden Tuesday.

Breaking News From Mansfield

2006-06-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

I was just emailed this info from a trustworthy source!

Would've worked better had I been on air...

Breaking news for you and your faithful listeners. I just two minutes ago got a phone call from some of my pals who are at the Mansfield MA show tonight and they played me - over the phone - FOOLED AGAIN (i dont like it)

Nice to see a setlist change.

Madison Square Garden Review

2006-06-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

By PHIL GALLO - Variety

Tom Petty played three songs from his upcoming album as he and the Heartbreakers played Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

For 30 years, Tom Petty has avoided the tug of nostalgia in assembling his shows: Nearly each of his tours with the Heartbreakers has been accompanied by a new release whose material is firmly integrated among the hits and oddities. This summer, Petty's on a two-fold mission -- celebrating the three decades since their debut recording and working in new tracks from his solo disc "Highway Companion," which American Recordings will release July 25. Three new songs made it into Tuesday's set and they are wildly different from each other; they share, however, a desire for musical intimacy that's a tough sell in a basketball arena.

Petty devoted two-thirds of his 21-song show to hit singles, opening with "Listen to Her Heart" and closing with "American Girl," but he is reaching for a level of connection with fans that seems to only interest artists once they pass the age of 45 (he's 55).

His attempt at intimacy -- an acoustic segment, favoring songs that play at a lope rather than a gallop, showcasing more introverted material -- falls short in places yet never because of a fault in the execution. (Abundant guitar changes stunted the pacing.) Petty has never been one for spontaneity or shtick and his lack of salesman skills hurt him as the audience drifted from rapt on "I Need to Know," with guest Stevie Nicks leading the vocals, to disinterest three slow songs later when Nicks and Petty were delivering a beautiful and graceful duet on "Insider" that reminded of Gram Parson and Emmylou Harris.

Remarkably, the band recovered with "Don't Come Around Here No More," an equally tepidly paced ballad, but one that plays off striking dynamics between the instrumentalists and one that kicks into high gear toward its conclusion. Energy in the sold-out arena was viscerally changed, but it mostly didn't matter: Only "Refugee""Refugee" and "Running Down a Dream" were left before the encores started.

The segment that damaged the pacing included two new songs, "Melinda" and "Square One," that felt out of context in a triple-decker musical sandwich that included a Nicks-mumbled "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and a gently rendered "Learning to Fly."

"Melinda" opens at the steady pace of a train as Petty sings about a woman who's far away yet worthy of him spending all his savings to travel to see her. It draws its musical substantiveness, though, when it suddenly shifts into an angular Steely Dan-ish mode and Benmont Tench is given space to explore a series of block chord solos on the piano and a few washes on the synthesizer.

"Square One" is more pop-oriented and cuddly, a number that sounds like it should have been offered to the Dixie Chicks. It has AC radio written all over it and if its chorus of the protagonist's tabula rosa approach to romance clicks with listeners it might have a future at radio.

The other rookie, the boogie-pop "Saving Grace," served as the anthem for the NBA Finals last week -- an odd choice lyrically, musically and demographically -- but it drives home the point that heroes of the '70s and '80s have no choice but to go the sponsorship route to get their new music heard outside the concert venues. Like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and Neil YoungNeil Young -- artists who filled their coffers with proceeds from anthems and then had something deeper to say after the auds stopped their fist pumping -- Petty appears determined to look forward while delivering a satisfying overview of his recording career.

Bonus points are culled from his continuing to introduce spirited covers that influenced him as a kid. The Yardbirds' version of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" fit the Heartbreakers' skill set perfectly; Peter Green's "Oh Well" isn't quite right for Petty's nasally tone, but the band marvelously nailed the riffs of the early Fleetwood Mac hit; and "Mystic Eyes," Van Morrison's terrifying shot at blending voodoo and psychedelia during his tenure with Them, was one of the evening's highlights. The Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care" featured rhythm guitarist-harmonica player Scott Thurston admirably singing Roy Orbison's parts.

The Heartbreakers are still driven by the wide-ranging guitar talent of Mike Campbell and Tench's ace keyboard work. They shake up the best-known songs with little touches and late in the evening get to disembowel "You Wreck Me," modulating the melody from driving rock to a measured clip to an almost ambient soundscape. At the tune's slowest moments, Campbell produced a solo that drew from Jerry Garcia's more-inspired work, a nice touch on a night that found Campbell generally working with a meatier tone and flashier solos.

Petty & the Heartbreakers have been an arena act for nearly 90% of their existence and as a leader Petty walks a rare line between commercial and critical viability. Tune after tune Tuesday, it was reminder how much Petty is a crucial and almost inexplicable bridge between the artistic and populist: He's the step between Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick, Bo Diddley and the Cars, Tim Buckley and Dashboard Confessional.

His 27-date tour, which doesn't have an L.A. show yet, partners him with the Allman Brothers Band or Pearl Jam on varying bills. And while those two acts have more adventurous experiments in their past, it will be interesting to see whose sound stands up to time better. Don't bet against Petty.

Petty & the Heartbreakers return to New York to toplinetopline Amsterjam on Randall's Island on Aug. 19.

Saving Grace Review

2006-06-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

From blogcritics.org

Before I launch into this review, lets get one thing out of the way - I'm not familiar with Tom Petty. That's right, I own one of his albums (the soundtrack from She's The One) and have heard some of his other material, but I've never actually went out and bought one of his many albums. So when I listen to "Saving Grace" his latest single from his forthcoming album Highway Companion I do so without knowledge his earlier (perhaps better? perhaps worse?) music. That said, this song is great rocker no matter what.

From the minute it opens up it sounds both old yet contemporary. A rockabilly song with enough modern flair to keep it energized. Tom Petty's vocal are a perfect fit with the song style, just rough enough to work with the scratchy guitar riffs. The song has a good foot tapping beat and is a high energy, pumping rocker through and through. The song-writing is fine and isn't overly repetitive with it's chorus lines and isn't at all cheesy. That's brings me to the issue of song length, something that can really ruin a song for me. Luckily, "Saving Grace" is short and compact, just the right length for a piano and scratchy guitar riff song.

For me, this song works very well. It even may push me to do what friends insistence and recommendations have never (for some reason) been able to do - make me go out and buy some Tom Petty albums.

"Saving Grace" is the first single from the album Highway Companion by Tom Petty, due out July 25th.

Cameron Graham is a young but enthusiastic critic who is passionate about movies, books, and (some) music. He is a published author and enjoys writing.

Rock on Cameron!

Tom Petty Owns Bonnaroo

2006-06-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Spin Magazine - Thanks Laurie for the heads up!Suddenly, Tom Petty is the coolest rocker on earth. Not sure when exactly that happened, but no one could have stood as tall upon Bonnaroo's main stage last night. Playing a barrage of his massive radio hits -- "Refugee," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Don't Come Around Here No More," and the epic "Freefallin'" -- Petty bathed in the crowd's warm responses for every moment of his two-plus-hours onstage. Even better: an impromptu duet with Stevie Nicks on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Spin climbed the rafters and got these amazing shots of the stellar headline set.

Petty Deal

2006-06-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

(PR) Tom Petty has signed an exclusive recording contract with Rick Rubin's American Recordings. The agreement keeps Petty within the Warner Bros. Records family - his last four albums were on the Warner Bros. label, including 1994's multi-Platinum, Grammy-winning Rubin-produced "Wildflowers" - and Rubin recently brought his American Recordings label back to Burbank.

"Having Tom on American is a dream come true for me," commented Rubin, "Tom is the consummate craftsman when it comes to recording, and has written great songs consistently for thirty years." Rubin is excited to be expanding upon the working relationship he has with Petty and the Heartbreakers, who, in various combinations, have worked with the producer on numerous projects. "Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers is the quintessential American rock band," Rubin added, "and being a great rock and roll band has become a lost art."

"We are delighted that Tom has chosen to continue his relationship with Warner Bros. Records and that he will be working with Rick," says WBR Chairman & CEO Tom Whalley. "They are both incredibly talented and have created some of the greatest music of our time."

The first release under the new agreement will be "Highway Companion," Petty's third solo and 18th overall career disc. Due out on July 25 and featuring twelve new Petty compositions, "Highway Companion" was produced by Jeff Lynne with Petty and Mike Campbell; Lynne also produced the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Petty albums "Full Moon Fever" (1989) and "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991) (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers).

The first radio track is "Saving Grace," which was world-premiered in front of 20-million people on ABC-TV's Dallas vs. Miami NBA Finals last Thursday, June 8. A special video stream of "Saving Grace" is now available at tompetty.com.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are currently on their 2006 U.S. Summer/Fall concert tour, which includes headlining the Bonnaroo Festival on June 16 and Madison Square Garden in New York on June 20th. Both events are sold out. For complete tour dates, visit gonegator.com.
This year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Campbell, Benmont Tench/keyboards, Ron Blair/bass, Scott Thurston/guitars, harmonica, backing vocals, and Steve Ferrone/drums - will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album. For this 30th anniversary, Academy Award-winning director/screenwriter Peter Bogdanovich has signed on to direct a comprehensive feature/film documentary about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Over the past 30 years, Petty & the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50-million records, been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, the first year the band was eligible. Late last year, Billboard magazine presented Petty with its 2005 Century Award, the publication's highest honor for creative achievement. He recently kicked off his second season of his critically acclaimed XM Satellite Radio show, "Tom Petty's Buried Treasure."

"Highway Companion" Credits:Produced by Jeff Lynne with Tom Petty and Mike CampbellRecorded at Bungalow Palace and Shoreline Recorders, Los Angeles, CARecorded and Mixed by Ryan Ulyate

Musicians:
Tom Petty - Lead Vocal, Rhythm Guitar, Drums, Backing Vocals, Harmonica, Electric Piano on "Night Driver," Bass on "Square One," Lead Guitar and Keyboards on "Jack"

Mike Campbell - Lead Guitar, Vibraphone on "The Golden Rose"

Jeff Lynne - Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Autoharp on "Ankle Deep"
"Highway Companion"

Track Listing:
Saving Grace
Square One
Flirting With Time
Down South
Jack
Turn This Car Around
Big Weekend
Night Driver
Damaged By Love
This Old Town
Ankle Deep
The Golden Rose

Tom Petty performs before a packed Germain Amphitheater crowd.

2006-06-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Beck
The Columbus Dispatch
JAMES D. DECAMP DISPATCH

We all have gifts. Some are blessed with athletic prowess, some with the patience to teach children, some with the capacity to endure office work. Tom Petty is blessed with a voice like no other, and a person who has spent even the slightest time near FM radio since 1976 -- the year Petty and the Heartbreakers released their self-titled debut -- can recognize that tobacco smoke-bred, nasal delivery coming at them through the man's ample, seemingly clenched teeth.
It sounded rare then and -- in 2006, when can hear so many new voices 24 hours a day on the Internet, satellite radio and beyond -- it sounds even rarer.

Rock 'n' roll fans should be thankful the Gainesville, Fla., native is still gracious enough to share that instrument with us.

Petty and the Heartbreakers, on what they're hinting will be the final big-venue hits parade, performed last night in a packed Germain Amphitheater.

Petty, with drummer Steve Ferrone, guitarist-harmonica player Scott Thurston, bassist Ron Blair and the two who have been with Petty since 1975 -- guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench -- gave a performance suitable for a joint that holds 20,000.

There of course were hits and the set was packed with the familiar from four decades, including Listen to Her Heart, from '78, with its conspicuous Byrds jingle-jangle; You Don't Know How It Feels ('94); I Won't Back Down ('89) and a duo of new tunes.

Those new songs, to be included on Petty's first studio album in four years, Highway Companion, included Saving Grace. Carried by a John Lee Hooker/Billy Gibbons-like guitar line, was sinister, bottom-heavy rockabilly. Square One, with Petty on acoustic guitar, touched on absolving one's self of mistakes and guilt, was something anyone with age marks around the eyes ought to be able to understand.

There were surprises, including I'm a Man and Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well.
And there was a guest: Stevie Nicks, whose husky, dusky pipes make a perfect companion for Petty's twang.

Nicks' performance and presence really upped the energy of the show. Twirling in her trademark frilly, friendly-witch garb, she belted out Stop Draggin' My Heart Around ('81) and burned the barn down with Petty and the Heartbreakers on I Need to Know ('78).
"We're just havin' some fun is all," said Petty. "Just having some fun."

And it was. But what truly is exciting is the future. Hits-stoked, two-hour amphitheater shows are fun, familiar and a good way to persuade people to pay upwards of $80 a head to see them. If Petty is serious about shelving the idea for a while, or for good, so be it. The guy's discography is deep and lined with so many good rock songs. Watching him play those in new ways in new venues and using that distinct voice that is going to get only more distinct will make for some real news to share.

A man with a not so distinct voice played first last night -- former Phish guitarist-singer-songwriter Trey Anastasio. His previous band played three-hour noodlefests and were known for covering an entire album by, say, the Beatles.

Solo, Anastasio played it more straight-ahead, going for '70s soul-rock vibe as he played not-so-distinct solos and singing in a voice that if it were a color would be beige.

Tom Petty at nTelos Pavilion

2006-06-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

By JEFF MAISEY, The Virginian-Pilot

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers brought their Highway Companion Tour to the nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center on Monday in celebration of the band's 30th anniversary.

Midway through the nearly two-hour set, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks joined the band on stage. She wasn't the only musical star at the venue, though. The members of Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus, who performed the night before at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, were seated in the audience.

"I had the day off from our tour," said Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. "From a songwriting point of view, Tom Petty has been a big influence on my career."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -- Mike Campbell (guitars), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Ron Blair (bass), Scott Thurston (guitars) and Steve Ferrone (drums) -- gave a well-balanced performance of their signature hits, familiar covers and a sampling of new material from the upcoming album "Highway Companion," due to be released next month.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees opened with "Listen to Her Heart," with Petty strumming his tear-shaped guitar. An overhead curved video panel provided colorful images of the band members throughout the night.

Petty then switched to his trademark Rickenbacher six-string for "You Don't Know How It Feels."

Petty was keen on supplying the hits, such as "Refuge," "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Free Fallin'." He also shared some of the songs that influence his songwriting, including The Yardbirds' "I'm a Man" and "Oh Well," a Fleetwood Mac tune that pre-dates Stevie Nicks' membership in that group. They also played "Handle With Care," a song Petty co-wrote with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison as a member of Traveling Wilburys,

Petty's new material, while nice to hear, doesn't hold a candle to the songs from his last studio album, "Last DJ." "Square One" smacked of Bob Seger's "Against the Wind," and "Saving Grace" grooved like ZZ Top's "La Grange," specifically the lifted John Lee Hooker guitar riff.

Stevie Nicks received a thunderous round of applause when Petty introduced her as she strode across the stage to join the band for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," the 1981 duet Petty wrote for her solo debut. The version was done exceptionally well. It was followed by "I Need to Know," with Nicks singing the lead part. Afterward she exited the stage briefly and rejoined the band as a guest backup singer for the remainder of the concert.

Toss in "Learning to Fly" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and the sold-out crowd certainly got its money's worth.

On a cool, misty night more indicative of a late spring concert in Portsmouth, England, than Portsmouth, Va., Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gave a magical performance that will go down as one of this year's best.

Tom Petty rich in hits, surprise singer

2006-06-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

COURTNEY DEVORES
Special to the Observer

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary tour kicked off Friday night in Charlotte at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and included an unannounced performance by Stevie Nicks.
Petty and his band came onstage after an opening set by former Phish front-man Trey Anastasio. Flanked by a teardrop shaped Vox guitar and wearing a blank velvet blazer, red shirt and tie, Petty launched into 1978's "Listen to Her Heart." He followed that up with a string of crowd pleasers -- "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Won't Back Down" and "Free Fallin'," which had the audience loudly singing along.

Petty voiced his gratitude after "Saving Grace," a new song from the forthcoming album "Highway Companion" that he said they'd never played live before.

"I'm always scared to play a new song," he said afterward. The John Lee Hooker-style tune received a great response from the crowd that remained standing.

You didn't have to own any of Petty's albums to truly enjoy the show because it was so rich in radio hits. Of course Petty is one of the rare older artists who found support from MTV and VH1. He could still get a video in regular rotation on MTV 20 years into his career. That may explain the younger college and high school-aged fans in the crowd who blew up when sideman, guitarist, and backing vocalist Scott Thurston cranked into the familiar harmonica intro of "Mary Jane's Last Dance," a 1993 hit.

Anyone whose interest waned during tributes to influences such as early Fleetwood Mac rose to attention when Stevie Nicks took the stage for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know." Flubbing the lyrics on the first chorus to "Stop Draggin'," Nicks said singing with Petty made her a touch nervous.

She reappeared toward the end of the set for "Insider" from Petty's early 1980s "Hard Promises" album and she stuck around to sing backup with the Heartbreakers on "Learning to Fly", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Refugee."

With only a no frills, piano key-looking lighting rig and a few screens draping the stage, the performance of Petty and his Heartbreakers -- drummer Steve Ferrone, guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboard player Benmont Tench, bassist Ron Blair and Thurston -- was low on theatrics, but big on songs from a deep catalog that his audience was eager to hear.

Tom Petty rolls out rock classics

2006-06-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

With Heartbreakers, Stevie Nicks in tow, he mines his catalog
BY MELISSA RUGGIERITIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jun 12, 2006

MANASSAS -- To celebrate 30 years in rock'n'roll, Tom Petty and his ever-reliable Heartbreakers are giving fans the type of hit parade few of his contemporaries can muster.
On the second date of the Highway Companion Tour, the effortlessly cool singer/guitarist ripped through a catalog that touched on his tenure in the Traveling Wilburys and his solo work, plus a cover of vintage Fleetwood Mac ("Oh Well") and a vision of later Mac with the appearance of longtime comrade Stevie Nicks.

At 55, Petty looks and sounds terrific. His sharp features framed by his trademark floppy blond hair, Petty spent much of the robust two-hour concert slithering across the stage with graceful spins and frequently blowing kisses to the crowd of more than 20,000.
He's also a sincere, casual host, who, when he drawled "I love y'all out there" in his measured twang, seemed to actually mean it.

Those sturdy Heartbreakers, led by guitarist Mike Campbell, unrecognizable in dreadlocks, buoyed "Free Fallin'" with clean guitar lines, while a woozy harmonica from Scott Thurston coated "Mary Jane's Last Dance" in a lackadaisical haze. Petty's distinctive nasal tones were also in perfect pitch, from "You Don't Know How It Feels," a reluctant sigh of a song that chugged appealingly, to the quiet rebellion of "I Won't Back Down."

With his first album in four years due next month (also called "Highway Companion"), Petty used his platform to debut "Saving Grace," a pumping rocker identified by a scratchy rockabilly riff and piano, a bit of a fresh old sound.

Midway through the concert, the band pulled out a glorious take on the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care," with Thurston ably carrying Roy Orbison's rumbling part. That was the first bonus for the fervent audience much of it a couple of decades younger than the expected baby boomers, and one that rarely sat down.

Introduced as Petty's soul sister, the lovely Nicks, in layers of chiffon, twirled out for a passionate rendition of their 1981 duet, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," easily one of rock's coolest musical pairings and an undeniable highlight on Saturday.

Nicks, who appeared to have as much fun as Petty onstage, offered a fierce "I Need to Know," playing air guitar and banging a tambourine festooned with ribbons, Stevie-style. The duo also offered the less-known "Insider" as the sliding video screens split into two frames, giving an intimate view of the two singers watching each other with deep, unspoken meaning.

Nicks stuck around to blend in with the Heartbreakers and sing backup on a stripped acoustic version of "Learning to Fly" and the richly melodic "Don't Come Around Here No More," its frenzied coda awash in strobe lights.

With other Petty staples such as "Refugee" and the show-closing "American Girl" included, die-hard fans are sure to grouse about the mainstream obviousness of the set list. It's a silly quibble, because a tour billed as an anniversary should be represented by past glories. If you've got it, flaunt it -- and Petty has enough of it to last another 30 years.

Show Filled With Greatest Hits

2006-06-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

COURTNEY DEVORES
Special to the Observer

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary tour kicked off Friday night in Charlotte at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

Petty and his band came onstage after an opening set by former Phish front-man Trey Anastasio. Flanked by a teardrop shaped Vox guitar and wearing a blank velvet blazer, red shirt and tie, Petty launched into 1978's "Listen to Her Heart." He followed that up with a string of crowd pleasers -- "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Won't Back Down" and "Free Fallin'," which had the audience loudly singing along.

Petty voiced his gratitude after "Saving Grace," a new song from the forthcoming album "Highway Companion" that he said they'd never played live before.

"I'm always scared to play a new song," he said afterward. The John Lee Hooker-style tune received a great response from the crowd that remained standing.

You didn't have to own any of Petty's albums to truly enjoy the show because it was so rich in radio hits.

Backstage Pass Charlotte

2006-06-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

First Impressions of Highway Companion

2006-06-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Austin Scaggs' “Smoking Section” in the June 15 Rolling Stone really throws some nice words on “Highway Companion.”

The writer said he's ready “to be the first to declare Highway a classic in the rank's of Petty's Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers.”

Thanks Tony for the heads up!

Tom Petty has retro plans for summer

2006-06-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

He’s celebrating 30 years on the road with old friends, old songs and a film in the works.
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
The Associated Press

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers are marking 30 years of touring this summer on a special trip that will have guests like Stevie Nicks and Pearl Jam, a batch of old Heartbreakers songs going back to the first album and a filmmaker.

“It’s not the most creative place as far as writing,” he said of the road. “And I think if you do take some time away, you come back with a much better band and a lot more enthusiasm for it.
“But I don’t get tired. We’re in such a nice position right now, things have gone so well. I have people approach me on the streets and say, ‘Thanks for writing the soundtrack to my life.’ I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel as a songwriter.”

The filmmaker is Peter Bogdanovich, who is doing a documentary on the band. He’s taping this tour as well as looking at past footage that he’ll piece together for a movie.

“We’ve given him a lot more access than we’ve ever given anyone,” Petty said. “He does follow us around with cameras, interviewing us, talking to lots of people. He’s spent a great deal of time going through footage of the last 30 years. So we have high hopes for the movie.”

“I don’t want it from my point of view ... sometimes we’re miked all day and it’s a little nerve-racking, but I’m really glad that somebody of that caliber wants to get this story down, because it is quite a story, and I think it deserves to be archived.”

Petty is also doing some sidework as a DJ for XM Satellite radio, where he plays vintage rock.
“The nice thing that I didn’t really count about it is so many young people write in and tell us that they had no knowledge of this music at all, and are getting turned on to things. I had a girl write in who never heard of Chuck Berry. And she was in her teens and was thanking me for discovering Chuck.”

Petty Considers Lawsuit

2006-06-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

TOM PETTY is reportedly considering suing RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS over allegations they plagiarised one of his songs. The band have been accused of lifting key aspects of their latest single DANI CALIFORNIA from Petty's MARY JANE'S LAST DANCE, most publicly by US DJ DAN GAFFNEY who said, "The chord progression, the melody, the tempo, the key, the lyrical theme. they're identical." Sources tell the New York Post Petty is in discussions with his lawyers about mounting a legal challenge. The singer's representative HEIDI ROBINSON refused to be drawn on a potential lawsuit, but told the newspaper, "I am well aware of this situation. (The two songs) certainly do sound similar, don't they? I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. "Tom doesn't have a comment on this at all. I have no idea if he is going to sue the Chili Peppers, and am not prepared to make a comment on that." Producer RICK RUBIN recorded both Mary Jane's Last Dance with Petty, and Dani California with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Warner Music Group - Live Call-In

2006-06-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

For those who missed it on Gone Gator Radio, Sam from Warner Music Group did a live call in with me.

He said they have a TENTATIVE release date now of July 25th for Highway Companion.
Off air he told me he would get me a Sell Sheet as soon as he gets one.

See, even the RECORD LABEL knows Gone Gator Radio is cool!

Stevie Nicks Performing at First 8 Shows

2006-05-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

From Stevie's site.

Fans attending the first eight shows of the Highway Companion tour are in for a special treat. We are happy to confirm that Stevie Nicks will join the tour for its first eight shows -- from the June 9 show at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Charlotte, N.C. through the June 21 show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass.

Stevie will perform a selection of songs with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers during these shows.

Highway Companion Release Date

2006-05-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sean Bresnan - gonegator.com

This is the first date I've been given from a Warner Bros. Representative.

July 11th on American Recordings

Previously had "mid July" from what Tom said at the ASCAP Expo.

American Recordings is a Los Angeles-based record label headed by record producer Rick Rubin. It was founded as Def American after he left Def Jam Recordings in 1989. The label changed to its current name in 1993. Rubin produces most of the recordings on the label, as well as directing other music related ventures.

It's been distributed by Sony and Universal, but is now currently distributed by WEA (Warner, Elektra, Atlantic).

"I Just Try To Write A Good Song"

2006-04-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sean Bresnan - gonegator.com

Thats what Tom Petty said when asked about his songwriting methods at ASCAPs I Create Music Expo this past Saturday. The expo was aimed at practicing song writers. So, if youre not one, or not interested in the music business, the rest of the three day expo would have put you to sleep.

Tom spoke for an hour in front of a standing room only crowd of 700 - 800 people. I felt quite honored sitting on a reserved row along with Jon Scott, Bugs, Peter Bogdanovich, George Drakoulias, Tony Dimitriades, Mary Klauzer and Mrs. Dana Petty. Tom sat center stage with an interviewer and the room had two large video screens on either side, but there wasn’t a bad seat in the room. It was just great to listen to Tom talk in such an intimate setting.

To be honest, if you read Paul Zollos book, Conversations with Tom Petty, there really wasnt too much new information given. I did supply Mary Klauzer with three questions from the Tom Petty Bulletin Board. One of which was answered directly (kinda). The other two were kind of covered by other questions asked.

The first 20 minutes, the interviewer asked pretty standard questions. Tom wanted to give most of his time to the songwriters in the crowd, so the remaining 40 minutes or so was opened to the crowd. ASCAP had two microphones set up near the stage where people stood in line to talk to Tom Petty. They actually cut off questions when my friend and photographer, Michelle, was next in line. My heart just sank for her. But hopefully I will have pictures up at gonegator.com soon.

I know I didnt get all the questions, but my main concern was what Tom was saying. So, I will paraphrase some of the questions and give Toms answers. What I love about Tom Petty is what an honest, down to earth, humble and FUNNY guy he can be. And all of these things came out in this interview

Something of note, in the introduction part, the interviewer was mentioning tour dates. I havent seen or heard it mentioned anywhere else, but the band will be playing the Austin City Limits festival in, thats right, Austin Texas in September.

Interviewer: Where were you [in life] when music took you over?
Tom Petty: In my front yard

Tom then told the classic Elvis story we all know and love.

Interviewer: Tell us about your 1st band
Tom Petty: Tom never said which band it was, Epics or Sundowners, but did say I put this band together with the only other guy in Gainesville with long hair. He went on to say that this girl had asked him if his band would play a dance, so Tom said they got to the dance and had three songs worked up real good. We played these three songs really good [pause] and then we played them again. When I got into Rock n Roll, it was all about gettin the girl, so we did like Wooly Bully for this dance, never got that girl though. Tom went on to say that they auditioned for Capricorn at the studio in Macon, GA where the Allman Brothers recorded. He said, we were rejected for sounding too English.

Interviewer: Tell us about the songwriting process and lyrics, can you just call your muse up on the phone?
Tom Petty: Just lucky really, I like it when the words and music come together at the same time.” Tom went on to say how he wrote “Wildflowers.” He said basically, he had gone on a drive, turned the tape recorder at home and recorded that whole song, chord changes and lyrics in one take. On songs Tom said, “It just happens really and it keeps happening.” Who’s your muse?, “My wife [pause] inspiration comes at different times really, I just try to keep my antenna up because it’s downright impolite to ignore the muse. I just try to write a good song. I may write ten songs and throw them away before finding the right one.”

Interviewer: Tell us what its like working with the Heartbreakers.
Tom Petty: Theyre my family, theres nobody else I would rather work with.

Interviewer: Any advice for our songwriters?
Tom Petty: Always be yourself and never follow trends

Here are a few of the better questions asked by songwriters in the audience.

Songwriter: Any advice for writers block when your own worst critic?
Tom Petty: The Heartbreakers can be very critical surround yourself with good people find yourself a good producer to bounce things off of.

Songwriter: What did you think of the Strokes ripping off American Girl?
Tom Petty: I did hear that song, and if they had used my lyrics, I would have been upset I got a really nice letter from the Strokes saying please dont sue us, we meant it as a tribute to you So I let it slide.

Songwriter: Do you ever check your MySpace account?
Tom Petty: Whats that? [shrugs shoulders] I dont know what that is!

That answer received a great laugh and round of applause from the audience.

Im writing this from my notes and I dont remember the exact question asked, but on collaborating with Stevie Nicks, Tom said Stevie has agreed to come out and do a few songs with us on this tour. On wardrobes and look, Tom said we got into the music, never got into the jewelry.

So, I supplied Mary Klauzer with a few questions from TP's BBS. And the interviewer goes we're going to pause and ask a question from the BBS... someone in the audience said something like "Is it from the 'Crazy Chick'" and I swear Tom goes yeah it's probably from the Crazy Lady or something like that.

Now I've only done the Crazy Chick bit on Gone Gator Radio during one of my live shows. So, it kinda made me feel like Tom heard that and thought it was funny. It may have been purely coincidental with how he responded to the girl in the audience. But it was flattering that the girl in the audience HAD heard the bit!!!

From the BBS: How do you develop your characters for your songs.
Looks liked they picked Cathees question!
Tom Petty: Its just fun reallyits fun to try and be someone youre not to try to imagine what that person might be doingto tell a story. In a song, each line is so important. Tom goes on to give the 1st line of Blue Sunday as an example she took a rolled-up twenty out of her pocket and paid for my cigarettes now we have this guy who smokes he cant afford them and for some reason, this girl rolls up her money. Its just fun.

Ive got several more notes and an audio recording to go through with many more questions, but these were the best ones. Ill close with one of the last questions asked and I think with one of Toms best answers, ok, 2nd to the MySpace one.

Songwriter: What are your governing values?
Tom Petty: Have morals be good and treat other people the way you want to be treated.

In other words, dont be a dick!

Tom Petty's Summer Tour His Last?

2006-04-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Heartbreakers turn thirty with a blowout tour, movie

In 1976, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their debut album, and this summer Petty plans to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary in grand style. He and the Heartbreakers will hit the road in June on a tour that Petty says might be the band's last major summer outing; there's an ambitious documentary in the works; and Petty is finishing Highway Companion, a solo album tentatively due on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label this summer.

"It's a quieter album than I've done before," Petty says, sitting behind the sound desk in his home studio in Malibu. "I don't think I wasted any lines on this album. I think the songs are all there."

Petty exudes genuine pride as he debuts for Rolling Stone nine of the songs slated for Highway Companion, including "Square One" and "Turn This Car Around." He began recording the album last year with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne. Each contributes guitar parts, Lynne plays keys and a Hofner bass, Campbell plays a hefty amount of slide guitar ("He's never been better," says Petty) and, for the first time on record, Petty plays drums. Though they all but finished recording in February, Petty says, "The only thing keeping me from wrapping things up is just going, 'Well, I wonder if there's one more in me?'"

Petty plans to incorporate some of these songs into the Heartbreakers tour this summer, which will kick off in June with openers including Pearl Jam, John Mayer, Trey Anastasio and, Petty hopes, the Strokes and the Allman Brothers Band. "I think we should do this tour and then put an end to doing national tours, and just play now and then where we want to play," he says. "The idea of doing sheds or arenas . . . you turn into an animal by the time it's done."

Also, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Mask) has begun shooting a documentary about the Heartbreakers' history. "We've given him access that we've never given anybody," says Petty. Bogdanovich will interview Petty at length and hopes to talk with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and members of Petty's family.

"We're trying to give a sense of what happened to this group of kids that came from Gainesville, Florida -- how they made the big time," says Bogdanovich. "How did that change them, and how did they change the world?

"I'm not an expert on Tom Petty, I'm just a fan," adds Bogdanovich. "But what appeals to me is that he's a real American artist -- an impressionist -- very much of the American grain."

Tour News

2006-04-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be touring this summer. The final schedule will not be available until next week at which time you will be notified. Meanwhile we want you to be the first to know that the tour which celebrates the bands 30th anniversary and will start on June 9, will include some dates with some very special friends and opening acts.

For example we can confirm that Pearl Jam will be on two Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers shows in St Paul at the Excel Arena on June 26 and 27 and also two shows in Denver at the Pepsi Center on July 2 and 3.

There will be more shows with Pearl Jam and other exciting announcements will follow. Presales and other special opportunities for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fans will be available so please stay tuned and keep checking gonegator.com for details.

You have probably read that a new Tom Petty album will be released this summer. Although there is no official release date confirmed yet, Highway Companion will be released in July.

WOOHOO!

Tom Petty Q & A

2006-03-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

Melinda Newman

Last October during his Century Award interview, Tom Petty told Billboard that he could not believe the band was staring down its 30th year. "I specifically remember thinking if we get five years out of this, it would be really successful," he recalled. "I never thought we'd do it this long."
And yet, here comes the 30th birthday and Petty feels nothing but gratitude that he and his band mates are still at it with a fan base that is just as fervent as always.

Billboard caught up again with Petty in late February as he cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway to the recording studio to put the finishing touches on "Highway Companion," his forthcoming solo album, produced by Jeff Lynne. The new album is expected to arrive in June. Petty, offstage at the Billboard Music Awards in December, said the album will be released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings, which is distributed by Warner Bros. However, at press time, confirmation of the deal was still pending. Although the solo album beckoned, he genially discussed 30 years worth of Heartbreakers' music and what is still to come.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album. What do you remember about being in the studio with producer Denny Cordell and your boys?
We were really excited in those days. We worked on it on and off for six or seven months. We weren't afraid to try anything, I'll say that. We were all open to trying anything and I hear those records now and I can't hardly believe that we did them, but we somehow did.

I just remember that studio was really brown. We called it the Brown Room. It was the Shelter Studio in Hollywood. We'd just pull in every day and the songs came really effortlessly. The tracks were all played live. It was a joy, really. We were really proud of it when we got it done.
It sounds like you weren't afraid to try anything. That's a spirit you never lost even as success came and you had a lot to lose by taking risks.

Well, we kind of go where the wind blows us, you know [laughs]. We've never really played it safe or tried to make the same record again, it's a lot more fun that way. The idea was to take the same people and keep them together no matter what and see what we could produce and, so far, it's still holding our interest.

There was this incredibly appealing rawness to the first album.

It's raw, it's definitely raw. We didn't want to over-produce it. We didn't really know a lot about production. For one thing, there was a sort of bloated corporate rock at the time and people were putting out six-or seven-minute songs that just went on and on and I wanted to keep the songs nice short and concise, so you'll notice the songs aren't very long and that worked. We just wanted to get the best out of each song. But you never really know what you're doing on your first album, you know [laughs]. I don't think anyway. But when we got something we were proud of, we stuck with it.

We're going to flash forward 30 years. You're going out on your 30th anniversary tour this summer. How's it going to be different?

I'm talking off the top of my head now because I haven't gotten that far with it. I think the idea will be to play all the hits and cover all the different eras, try to hit something from every record -- I think there's been some talk about going deeper into the albums on this tour and you can always find things that you haven't done.

You're playing Bonnaroo this summer; you don't normally play festivals.

I've got nothing against playing them, there just aren't that many. We were going to do Bonnaroo last year or the year before and it got cancelled. I look forward to doing it this year. I like playing that sort of thing. I think also, with that kind of audience, we can stretch out and jam a bit and have a good time.

Director Peter Bogdonavich is trailing you and the band for a film that will come out later this year. You're a very private person. What made you decide to let someone document your life?
I think it's a worthwhile project, you know, and I think it's good that he's going to finally tell this story completely. He's put a lot of effort into it so far. Sometimes, giving up your privacy is a little like going to the dentist and we have let him have access that no one's ever had. So far, it's looking good. We're all pretty excited about it. I think he's going to make a good movie.

Were there other music movies or documentaries that you saw that made you think, "why not?"
I liked the Bob Dylan that I saw. The one we're doing isn't a concert film, per se, it has a lot of music in it, obviously. And God, they've been months just archiving old film so far, but I think they're going to find a lot of film that's never been seen that's going to be good. We are going to shoot a new concert to deal with this project, but I don't think the whole concert will be in the movie, just bits of it.

You're headed to the studio to wrap up "Highway Companion." When we talked in October, you said the album is about the passage of time. What else can you say about it?

I'm reaching there to try and find a theme. It's just really a nice collection of songs. I think it does have an underlying theme of time and what it does to you.

What does it do to you?

It makes you old, if you're lucky [laughs].

Between the biography you did last year with Paul Zollo ["Conversations With Tom Petty," receiving Billboard's Century Award, the documentary and the 30th anniversary, you're spending a lot of time looking over your past. Are there any revelations coming up as you're strolling down memory lane?

Well, the question I'm asked all the time is does it feel like 30 years and I'd say, yes, it sure does [laughs]. It absolutely does. But I think, mainly, I'm just glad to still be doing it, still be taken seriously. I haven't been relegated to the oldies file yet and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. The movie, I just think will put a nice bow on the whole thing and then we can quit dealing with the past… We'll forget about it and get on to "Part 2."

What's in part 2?

It's probably more of the same, I suppose. You know, we're already building up songs for a Heartbreakers record, but that's down the road. We've talked a long time about doing a definitive live record and that could be on the horizon, I don't know.

I'd like to do more recording. I don't see us touring forever. Every time we do it now, I wonder if it's going to be the last one. But, you know, I think we'll continue to do that; everybody's gung ho to do it so…

Why do you think it could be the last one?

I don't know how many more 50-city tours I want to take on. I've spent my life doing that and I'd like to have some part of my life where I could concentrate more on recording without having to go out on tours.

Tony Bennett turns 80 this year, BB King just turned 80. They're still at it. Do you ever think about stopping recording?

No, I'd really like to have more time than I have for that. I have to turn that over in my head. I see people who do it until they drop and they say you can't help it. I think if I ever feel that I'm not doing it well, I would just stop, but as long as we're doing it and we're doing it at the standard we want to be playing and the people are happy, we'll keep doing that.

When we talked last October you said you now make records for yourself. How has that changed from how you used to make them before?

I think we always made them for ourselves, really, but you used to have more concerns about you want to have one that's going to be a hit so everybody will buy the record. I think as time has gone on, I'm more interested in -- I don't know how to put it -- what kind of catalog of stuff I can compile. That's what I'm interested in doing. Just getting all the songs that come to me and make good records of them and just so they're around so somebody can hear them.

Do you have any kind of checklist of projects you still want to complete? Like a duets album or an album of blues standards?

No, it's just song to song. I'm amazed that they keep coming. That's about it. It's funny, every year or so a batch of songs appears. I don't really understand it but I'm just glad. I'm not going to question it because it keeps happening.

Was there ever a point, such as when Stan Lynch left or Howie Epstein died, where you thought the group wouldn't continue? Were you ever in doubt?

I don't think we were ever in doubt about it. It was always there if we wanted it. There are times, like you say, when Howie died when you're really [wondering] what's this worth? How dangerous is this gig? That crosses your mind sometimes. We were never discouraged to that degree. I think we've always enjoyed what we were doing and felt really blessed that we've always had a job and always been able to make another record and there's always a crowd there when we walked out on stage, so you gotta be really grateful for that.

In an interview last summer, your wife Dana said that you were still a "nervous wreck" before you went on stage. Is that true after all these years

I am, yes. I'm really nervous before I play. I just, you know, I don't know what it is, but I get to where I can't even speak a few hours before the show, you know, and once I get out there I'm OK.

I don't take it for granted ever. I always want to do my best and give them all I can, so, you know, I really take it seriously.

That actually shows an incredible respect for your audience.

Well, if you're going out to 20,000 people and you're not a little nervous then you're not plugged in.

Any plans for reissues for the 30th or other ways to celebrate besides the tour?

You'd have to ask [my] office, I don't know. I have no idea. They've got me doing interviews in the car for Christ's sake. I'm so busy I can't... between the press and the film and finishing the record right now, I'm one busy guy and I do a radio show every week ["Tom Petty's Buried Treasure" on XM satellite radio], so it's nuts, you know, but I love it, it's great. I'm glad to be employed.

Summing Up Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

2006-03-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Craig Rosen & Debbie Galante Block

To mark the 30th anniversary of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' self-titled debut, Billboard surveyed some of Petty's contemporaries, some of the band's members and those who have worked closely with the group over the years about their favorite Petty & the Heartbreakers song, Petty's songwriting craft, and what makes the Heartbreakers one of the best American rock bands.

Stevie Nicks - Singer/songwriter, member of Fleetwood Mac and Petty's duet partner on the 1981 single "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"

The Songs: "When I thought I was dying in rehab in 1994, 'I Won't Back Down' was my mantra. It lifted me up out of the pain and made me fight thru it. 'Free Fallin' broke my heart about my life and his life and about who we were and that we simply could not change that. 'The Waiting is the Hardest Part' summed up my life. We can't stand waiting -- we rock and roll men and women. If we have to wait... we just don't. Tom Petty's songs are like a great book that you revisit when you need help. His songs make me better.

The Songwriter: "What makes Tom so good at this is that he writes about everything. Love in theory. Love in euphoria. Love in disappointment. Love in how it affects everyone; love after a long time. Divorce and how that affects everyone. New love and old love and how that affects everyone. Then he writes about personal growth and how that ebbs and flows. He writes about the world. He writes about the record business. He writes about monopolies and the nurturing of new artists that has ceased to exist. He has demanded that I start to write again when I thought I could write no more. He has, at times, been my Olympic coach. "You can do it," he says, "You don't need my help." He writes about his girls; girlfriends, daughters and wives. He has always been my great inspiration. He is magical. There is not, and never will be, another like him.

The Performer: "As far as live performance goes, he just knocks you out. On stage, there is no one better."

Olivia Harrison - Widow of former Beatle George Harrison, who with Petty was a member of the Traveling Willburys

The Song: "'Zombie Zoo' always puts a smile on my face because George and I and Tom and a gang of us were together on the night that inspired the song.

The Songwriter & Performer: What makes Tom Petty a unique live performer is that he is a storyteller. His Florida drawl and the meter of his speech are engaging. Even his everyday observations sound more like tales, and whether he is singing or speaking you'll hear truisms in his words. I call him Aesop Wilbury.

Randy Newman - Singer/songwriter and fellow Billboard Century Award honoree (2000)

The Songwriter: Tom's a really good guy. We worked together on a track for a record of mine and he worked harder than I did. He's a great songwriter and has been since the beginning of his career. He's remained consistent. Not all of us have.

Dwight Twilley - Singer/songwriter

The Songs: I have a fondness for some of his early songs that he made popular when were both were just starting out; songs like "American Girl" and "Breakdown." I also appreciate still that he sang on my hit song "Girls" in 1984.

The Performer: Tom's success represents a lot of hard work. It's a hard business. It's a big job to make a record, a big job to hold a band together and to go out on tour. He saw the importance of holding his band together, and he has stayed true to his roots.

Dave Stewart - Artist/songwriter/producer and member of the Eurythmics

The Songwriter: Tom is incredibly smart and has a beautiful mind. He has a way of distilling what he wants to say fluently, and he doesn't take any prisoners. Everything is spot on and not messy.

The Songs: One of my favorite songs is "Southern Accents." I also remember being in England and getting a real jolt of electricity when I first heard "Refugee." It was such a structured song, great words... I was turned on by that. The first time I heard it sung live, I was in shock at how powerful the performance.

The Band: Every one in the band is such a character in their own way. They are a classic band, and Tom is a consummate songwriter as well as a singer/performer.

Nils Lofgren - Singer/songwriter and E Street Band guitarist

The Songs: "If I had to pick one favorite song it would be 'Refugee,' but I loved 'Breakdown,' gorgeous and stark. Raw, but well produced. There was a lot of emotion in 'Even the Losers,'
'Free Fallin',' and 'Won't Back Down.' There has been integrity and substance in every hit record.
The Band: "As 'Damn the Torpedoes' was coming out, Tom and the Heartbreakers opened a long European tour for my solo band. It was unusual to have such an incredible rock band opening for us. As any opening act would do, they would come out and kick butt and we had to go out and make sure they didn't. They were great every night. I was shocked.

Right from the get-go, the band had an innate ability to present great songs in a very well-produced streamlined presentation. Not a lot of frayed edges, everything in its place. They were able to present that live with quite a bit of passion. It was a rare thing.

Roger McGuinn - Singer/songwriter and member of the Byrds

The Songs: I love Tom Petty. He's a wonderful musician and a wonderful artist, a great guy and a good friend. "American Girl" is the song that means the most to me because it's the first one I heard him do. I recorded it myself because I liked it so much. We went on the road together, played it in a lot of places and had a good time. The song brings back good memories for me. Tom and I also wrote a song together, "King of the Hill," which we recorded for my album "Back From Rio." The song was a moderate hit, and he sang it with me.

Warren Zanes - Singer/songwriter, former member of the Del Fuegos and VP of Education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum

The Songwriter: There are singer/songwriters that were guys with bands. Of that group, Petty had the capacity to really tell the story in the simplest way. Petty's stories were distilled in such a way that it allowed you to identify with the protagonist in the deepest way. When I was going through terrible s***, there was a Petty song. I could tell you my life from 15 years old on with Petty songs better than I could with photographs. He has a distinct gift as a writer.

The Songs: I don't have one favorite song, but I can pick a couple. Songs like "Straight Into Darkness," "The Wild One, Forever," and "Casa Dega."

Mike Campbell - Heartbreakers guitarist, songwriter, co-producer

The Song: "The first thing that pops into my mind is 'American Girl." We recorded it for our first album. I think it was around the 4th of July. It was really fun to make that record and I just had a feeling that this song had a really special quality to it. Not just the way it was written, but the way we recorded it, the way the band played on it and the sound that it made. When we recorded it, I just had a feeling that we were really onto something. There was something really special about this song, this sound, this thing we're doing, which is really us. This defines what we are. To this day, we don't always put it in the set, but when we do, [when I hear] that first chord, I have that same feeling for it.'

The Songwriter: "We have a great songwriter. His character is very powerful and it's easy to play with someone like that and sound good. It worked to his advantage that he found a group of players that had empathy and an instinctual understanding of how his songs could be realized."
The Band: "It's the old cliché of chemistry and the way we play. There's a certain talent that Ben has, that Tom has, and that I might have, and when you put it together, something happens that's better than all of us."

Benmont Tench - Heartbreakers keyboardist

The Song: "There's a song that nobody seems to notice on our second album, 'You're Gonna Get It,' called 'No Second Thoughts.' It's pretty brief. It's just a little short story, but it's wonderfully written and open enough to interpretation. And I love the feel of the track. It's just [drummer] Stan [Lynch] beating on some boxes or something and a little bit of organ, some acoustic guitars, and a pretty good bass part."

The Songwriter: "I just see us as this rock'n'roll band that's got a terrific songwriter, a really great songwriter that is deceptively good. There are 30 years of great songs that this guy wrote - and he wrote a lot of them with Mike [Campbell]. They run deeper than they seem on the top, which is a great thing about rock'n'roll. You can run things past people and they don't even know what they're getting."

The Band: "If it's really good live, it's because we're all aiming at the same thing. There should to be some telepathy there. [Original Heartbreakers bassist] Ron Blair is back in the band and as the new guy he's been in the band 10 years. If you've got a lot of really good songs and play them with heart and you're aiming at the song, that's going to make for a really good show."

Rick Rubin - Head of American Recordings, co-producer of the 1994 Petty solo album "Wild Flowers" album and "Mary Jane's Last Dance," a new song included on the band's 1993 "Greatest Hits" set

The song: "It was never a single or anything, but there's a song on 'Wildflowers' that really moves me called 'Hard on Me.' It's one of the very first things we cut together, so it's got some emotional relevance to me personally. Both the song is good, the tone of it is great, and the mood of the performance just captures the song perfectly. It's a perfect moment in time. It sounds really real, really live, personal, and intimate, and of a moment. It's personally revelatory lyrically, open, and honest. It's just a beautiful song."

The Songwriter: "If you look at his body of work, there are so many great songs. He's an incredible songwriter and when it comes to record making, he's a true craftsman. There are just not a lot of people that can do that. It's somewhat of a lost art."

The Band: "On top of that, you have Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, which is arguably the best American rock band, so you have a great band, with great songs, who make great records. It's really hard to beat."

Jeff Lynne - Former Electric Light Orchestra leader, Petty's Traveling Wilburys bandmate and co-producer of the Heartbreakers albums "Full Moon Fever," "Into the Great Wide Open" and "Highway Companion"

The Song: "One of my favorites, 'Square One,' was just in a film ["Elizabethtown"]. It was just a lovely tune, but my all-time favorite is one that I worked on is 'I Won't Back Down.' That kind of sums up Tom -- he's a cool guy and he's tough. I think he really did a great job on that, but I'm biased because I co-wrote the thing."

The Songwriter: "His songs are unique. He's got his own little spot in the whole spectrum of music. He's got tremendous words and very different kind of melodies. I always admire what he does with them. And he's a great singer. I think his singing has even gotten better over the years."

The Band: "They're just so tight, they kind of know what they're going to do before they do it. And Tom's a great frontman, he wears 'em every night and he really enjoys it. That's the key to it all."

Tony Dimitriades - Manager, East End Management

The Song: "'Even the Losers.' I like all his songs because of lyrical content, but in the case of 'Even the Losers,' when I hear it on the radio or when it's playing, even after all these years, I sort of tune into it again. If I'm in the car, I put the volume up."

The Songwriter: "Tom's got the entire package: lyric and melody. Also, he can tell an entire story in one line or paint a picture in one line. You don't have to listen to the entire song or an entire verse to get a meaning from it. One line will do the job for you."

The Band: "They can play anything. They're so tuned into each other and so similar in their tastes the can do things that nobody else can do."

Jimmy Iovine - Co-producer of the Heartbreakers albums "Damn the Torpedoes," "Hard Promises" and "Long After Dark," chairman of Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records

The Songs: "I've always loved 'The Waiting,' 'Even the Losers,' and 'American Girl.' It's all about the lyrics. He would just write things that take you out of where you are and put you in a place and you go, 'Wow, I feel like that or have felt like that in my life.'"

The songwriter: "Tom is just a brilliant songwriter. He's different than most. He was one of the original guys to hark back to American songwriters and also a lot of English songwriters. It was a time when there were these long rock songs, but he would write a three- to four-minute piece that had all the passion of any Led Zeppelin song or Bruce Springsteen song, but yet he condensed it in a three- or four-minute rock song. And he's very good at it. He's a great lyricist, a very poignant lyricist."

The Band: "What makes them sound the way they do is as much their imperfections as it is their talent and originality. It's the way Tom lays on a beat, and the bass and drums are slightly right behind. It is incredible chemistry. When you put all the instruments up, it would just lock. [Mike Campbell's] guitar, [Benmont Tench's] organ, and Tom's guitar go so well together. What you really have is an orchestra. When blended together it has a real concert sound."

Lenny Waronker - Former president of Warner Bros. Records

The Song: "I love ‘Free Fallin'.' We were lucky: my wife and I and [former Warner Bros. chairman/CEO] Mo Ostin and his wife were all up at Mo's house having dinner with George [Harrison], Tom and Jeff [Lynne]. They brought their acoustic guitars with them... It was kind of like being in Nashville or something. You had these three gigantic guitars in this big living room with wood ceilings. Tom played 'Free Fallin'.' I have to imagine it was one of the first times. It was just unreal to hear it that way. I remember saying, 'Do it again, do it again.' I just had to hear it again. It was a fantastic presentation of a song."

The Songwriter: "Most great writers have their own take on the world. He sees things in his way, which makes it unique. I can't exactly explain that, except that you know his language when you hear his songs. By the words that he uses, often you can tell it's Tom."

The Band: "Those guys are individually great musicians and they really get Tom. They know when he's right; they know what to do to get to the right place musically. They just have that knack. Put that into a band and it makes life easy. Certainly it must make life easy for him, because he has such a wonderful support group."

Barbara Skyde - Sr. VP, William Morris Agency

The Songs: "If I could pick two, I'd pick 'Learning to Fly' and I love the song 'It's Good To Be King,' which affected me very deeply. When I first heard it, I had to sit down and write Tom a letter. I love that song and it just touched me somewhere very deep. That song really just stopped me in my tracks."

The Songwriter: "To be a great songwriter, you have to have experienced a lot and I think Tom has. You've got a depth that he really reaches down into and obviously he has a great talent for turning a hook."

The Band: "Each member brings tremendous musicianship. Mike Campbell is incredible, as is Ben. You're talking about world-class musicians. Tom's no slouch on his instrument either. It's the way they connect with the audience and the way they connect with each other. That's what makes a great live show."

Highway Companion

2006-03-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

Tom Petty is putting the finishing touches on a new solo album, "Highway Companion,"Expected to be released in June. Although Petty previously said the disc would be released by Rick Rubin's American Recordings label, confirmation of the deal is still pending at deadline.

"I'm reaching there to try and find a theme," Petty tells Billboard of the project, which he previously described as being about the passage of time. "It's just a really nice collection of songs. I think it does have an underlying theme of time and what it does to you."

In support of the album, Petty and the Heartbreakers will tour extensively in 2006, with dates concentrated in the June-July and September-October time frames. True to form, they will try something different.

"What we're trying to do is a bunch of shows with different artists that either we like or think would be an interesting show," Petty manager Tony Dimitriades tells Billboard. "One of the main things we're doing is a bunch of shows with Pearl Jam. We're also talking to John Mayer about doing some dates, as well as the Strokes."

"And maybe in the occasional show there will be a friend [to] come on the road with us for a few days," he continues.

As previously reported, director Peter Bogdonavich is also following Petty and company for a film due later this year. Why did the famously private Petty allow for such unfettered access? "I think it's a worthwhile project, and I think it's good that he's going to finally tell this story completely. Sometimes, giving up your privacy is a little like going to the dentist, and we have let him have access that no one's ever had."

Gone Gator Radio is a HIT!

2006-03-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

Thank you, thank you!

Not even a week old and Gone Gator Radio is loved by Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker fans all over the world!

Here are some of the comments we've been getting:

Hometown Bluesman – "This is the best.. Tom Petty radio… already on a preset...GREAT MUSIC!!!

Normandi – "Man... can't wait to get home to do chores so I can listen to Gone Gator Radio !!!! "

Clarissa – "There are good things in life... this is one of them. Soooo happy I can play it at work. What a way to start the day! A TPATH 24/7 station"

Kemmitt – "Thanks so much Sean. This is awesome, finally some quality radio on the internet ."

GoodToBeKing2006 – "Hot Damn this is good stuff radio cant stop listening"

The Wild One Forever – "This radio station has inspired me to post on the BBS for the first time in years. Most things said on here belong in one of two categories: rumors without basis or people passing through just trying to stir the unknowing into defensive mode. .I just wanted to say that this radio stream is fantastic!!

If you haven't checked it out yet, click on the Gone Gator Radio banner. Come see what all the fuss is about. I will be doing live DJ shows from Atlanta and Bornarebel will be doing a show from LA. With a catalog of music as great, deep and as widely loved as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, we thought this band deserved their OWN radio station. Gonegator.com has always provided you the fans with dependable information regarding the band. With a summer tour being booked and a new album coming out, we plan to surpass anything we've ever done previously through our new radio station. Contests and live phone ins are in the works!

Tell all your friends to check out Gone Gator Radio! And let's make the band's 30th anniversary a memorable one!

Sean

Southern Man

2006-03-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

Tom Petty, like rock ’n’ roll, was born in the South. He has created timeless music that surpasses most of his influences.Philip Martin

Let me remind you that this ain’t the end. I can still kick some ass. — Tom Petty, accepting his Billboard Century Award in December Rock ’n’ roll belongs to anyone who wants it bad enough. It doesn’t much matter what you sound like when you open your mouth to sing or who your daddy was or what star you fell to earth from. If you’ve got aspiration and arrghh and a way of connecting with the boys and girls, you don’t need much talent. It’s a democratic form; all you need is a back story and something to bash on.

But we do have to insist that you acknowledge it started here, below America’s belt. Elvis and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and Ike Turner and Sam Phillips and Dewey Phillips and all those wild Burnett boys who started the grass fire that would consume the world were Southerners. Rock ’n’ roll was born Southern. Rock ’n’ roll’s an equal opportunity employer, but facts are facts.

To understand the subject of this essay, a Floridian with Indianstraight corn-silk hair and a crooked grin named Tom Petty, it’s important to know that rock ’n’ roll — as opposed to the corporatized “rock” — is essentially a Southern thing and always has been. Whether it’s Jersey-boy Springsteen affecting the beat-down vowels and mumbled “sirs” of the sharecropper or Britishers Mick and Keef droppin’ their g’s or even Dylan — the boy from the Iron Range — trying to sound like Blind Willie McTell, the inflections and vernacular of rock ’n’ roll have always been Southern.

This is one of those years when people will talk a lot about Petty and how he fits into our cultural landscape. November will see the 30 th anniversary of the release of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, probably the greatest debut album ever by an American band. In December, Petty was honored with Billboard magazine’s highest honor, the Century Award. Last year, Petty’s first “biography” (actually an extended dialogue with writer / musician Paul Zollo titled Conversations With Tom Petty was published. In the foreword, Petty promised an autobiography at “another time” ). Later this year — possibly as early as this month — Petty will release his next solo album, Highway Companion. There is an often-told story about Petty meeting Elvis Presley on the set of a movie improbably titled Follow That Dream. Petty’s uncle Earl Jernigan — “the only Northerner in the family” — worked a lot with film crews shooting in Florida. One day he brought 11-year-old Tommy with him to the set. “I didn’t know a lot about Elvis Presley,” Petty told Zollo. “I couldn’t get into my head who Elvis was exactly. I knew he was a rock ’n’ roll star. And I’d never thought much about rock ’n’ roll until that moment.” Elvis said hello and smiled and nodded. Petty doesn’t remember what he said. You can make it out to be like that moment when Bill Clinton shook JFK’s hand in the Rose Garden if you want to, a signal moment of torch-passing.

UNDERVALUED? People like Petty. They love the expansive jangle and grace of his singles. But they don’t necessarily consider him an important artist. He’s not Bruce Springsteen singing about the socioeconomic consequences inherent in the paradigm shift from industrial to service economies, and he’s not Bob Dylan muttering mad prayers. He works a vein of mainstream pop, singing mostly about girls.

If you’re going to make a case for Petty and his Heartbreakers as the pre-eminent American band of our time, you’d better prepare your case carefully. The same is true if you’re going to suggest that maybe the Heartbreakers are the direct descendants of Creedence Clearwater Revival or the American equivalent of the Rolling Stones — that is, if you don’t like Petty, you don’t like rock ’n’ roll.

Which goes back to the idea of rock ’n’ roll being essentially Southern and the existence of a specific genre known as Southern rock. It’s pretty much over now, although you still hear residual traces of it in bands like Drive-By Truckers and My Morning Jacket and in the truculence of country jingo singers like Toby Keith and cracker rappers like Kid Rock (who despite his Motown roots is pure d redneck trash ). Southern rock flashed across the empty skies of the 1970 s and was gone.

Southern rock could be provincial and reactionary, a stubborn regional sound with thuggish fans who didn’t for a minute buy into any of that hippie-dippy peace and love junk. It was a kind of “know-nothing” music, redneck rock that wrapped itself in the Stars ’n’ Bars as well as Old Glory.

Lordy, it could be some dumb music. Sometimes it celebrated getting drunk or getting stoned or getting into a fight or getting a gun. Sometimes it dealt in stereotypes, sometimes it encouraged mindless rowdyism as the answer to systematic exclusion from full economic participation in America.

Sometimes, though, it was better than that. Sometimes it offered up the concerns and attitudes of ordinary working-class folks as well as any form of pop expression. Sometimes — as when the clean lines of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts’ Gibson guitars snaked around each other, when brother Gregg Allman’s bluesy voice began to ripen and roar — Southern rock could be majestic, lyrical and sweet and beyond interpretation.

And while Southern rock is over — it ended violently, amid the torn rubber and twisted steel of various motorcycle and plane crashes — it isn’t dead. It got assimilated, just like the rest of us. Petty comes straight out of that tradition, although he’s an assimilator himself. Early in his career someone asked him what the major influence on his career had been. “The radio,” he replied.

That’s probably not an answer anyone could give now because the radio blew up and fragged into a thousand disparate demographically designed channels. But back in the day, young people, everybody knew the 40 songs on the radio — we all heard Wilson Pickett and The Turtles’ “Elenore.” It was a crowded house back then, everybody rubbing off on everybody else. Now you look at the charts in the back of the magazines and pick one or two or three streams you can sort of follow if you’re interested. (If not, you can just tune in the TV pap and diva shows and accept the manufactured vacuum-formed models the industry stamps out. ) But as late as 1976, when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers broke out, it was still possible to see a folk tradition at the heart of American pop, to discern regional accents and country-gone-totown giddiness in the chime of a 12-string Ricky.

ECONOMIC AND URGENT When they first surfaced as a national act after years of woodshedding in Florida bars, the Heartbreakers were often mistaken for a “new wave” act, and their economical singles — songs such as the Byrds-like “American Girl” and the Stonesish “Breakdown” — and emotional urgency could have been read as a rebuke to the indulgences of the bloated, faceless corporate competence of bands like Journey and Styx rather than a continuation — and advancement — of the mainstream pop tradition. No wonder the Heartbreakers were booked with bands like the Ramones and Blondie. No wonder that high-school punk rockers were working out versions of “I Need to Know” and “Refugee.” “ It would have been real easy to say, ‘OK, we are new wave,’ and get the skinny ties, ” Petty told writer Dave Marsh. “But it never looked like much of a challenge to me. It looked like a bigger challenge to work in the mainstream, to play to everybody. I never understood being so cool that nobody heard it.”

Underpinning Petty’s most obvious influences — his ringing Rickenbacker 12-string and his nasal upper register are reminiscent of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn — is a certain bluesy grit and the clean, muscular lines of the Allmans and Lynyrd Skynyrd. (Mudcrutch, Petty’s first band, occasionally shared the bill with pre-fame Skynyrd in Gainesville bars. )

While he is basically a rock ’n’ roll fundamentalist who turns to the Byrds (and to their antecedents Dylan and Nashville ) for melodic elegance and to the Stones for sheer power, Petty’s Southernness never prevented him from incorporating other styles into his music. He has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with Eurythmics’ techno-guitarist Dave Stewart (“ Don’t Come Around Here No More” ) and Jeff Lynne, the former guiding light of Electric Light Orchestra turned Beatles-esque producer who collaborates with Petty on Highway Companion.
For more than 30 years, Petty and the Heartbreakers have been amazingly consistent in commercial stature and artistic quality. There have been no obvious false steps, and even now none of the early songs sound anachronistic. His name may not be the first that comes to mind when talking about the bona fide first-tier rock ’n’ roll pantheon; perhaps it shouldn’t be too far down the list. Presley, Dylan, Springsteen, Berry... Petty ?

Petty has outdone most of his influences. His legacy is likely to outlast that of the Byrds or the Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd. Petty’s openness to new approaches has helped his music retain a certain freshness, although it no doubt helps that he writes economical, punchy pop songs that sound timeless. Songs mainly about girls.

Tom Petty Tivo Alert

2006-03-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

From Tom Petty MySpace

"All We Are Saying," Rosanna Arquette's new doucmentary on the music business, will premier on Showtime, Wednesday, at 8:00 PM. The actress-turned-filmmaker ("Searching for Debra Winger") probes the state of the music industry with this insightful documentary that features casual, intimate conversations about the state of the art. Along with Tom, Rosanna speaks to rock luminaries Chrissie Hynde, Peter Gabriel, Thom Yorke, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Elvis Costello and many others.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Can't Stop The Sun" is the closing song.

Tom Petty Guitar at New Hard Rock Bar

2006-02-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

The new Hard Rock Bar opening this week at the Valletta Waterfront will include a legendry guitar which belonged to America's rock icon Tom Petty. The guitar will be one of the many memorabilia hanging on the 300-year old walls of one of the vaults at the Valletta Waterfront.

The new Hard Rock Bar opening this March will be an attraction, both for tourists and locals, offering a unique atmosphere where history meets contemporary.

The Gibson B2512 Acoustic, was one of Tom Petty's leading guitars used in his famous world tour with his original band 'The Heartbreakers'. Compared to the heavy metal and art rock that dominated mid-'70s guitar rock, Tom Petty's bracing return to roots was nearly as unexpected as the crashing chords of the punk revolution brought about by The Clash. After a decade of successful releases and tours, during 1988, Tom Petty became a member of the supergroup The Travelling Wilburys, which also featured the legendry Bob Dylan, ex Beatle George Harrison, soul master Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne.

Other guitars hanging at the new Hard Rock Bar at The Valletta Waterfront belonged to The 'Red Hot Chili Peppers', 'Radiohead', 'Dokken' and 'Ten Years After'. The list of memorabilia to adorn this third Hard Rock outlet in Malta cover a wide spectrum of rock heroes from R.E.M, Eurythmics, Michale Jackson, Simply Red, Skid Row, The Supremes, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, David Bowie, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourn, Madonna, Billy Joel, Rod Steward, KISS and Aerosmith.

Built by Grandmaster Perellos in 1712, the vault within the Valletta Waterfront hosting the new Hard Rock Bar has been magnificently restored by the Viset Consortium, patrons of the Valletta Waterfront project which has shed new energy and light on one of Malta's most beautiful historical zones.

The new addition to Malta's Hard Rock experience will offer the basics of the Hard Rock Cafe' concept worldwide, where great music accompanies good food and drink. The new Malta bar will feature items from Hard Rock Cafe's menu, including appetizers, salads, sandwiches, desserts and famous classic burgers, with a focus on an incredibly well-stocked bar, where rock-star cocktails will be mixed and served by the stellar bar staff.

The Hard Rock Bar at the Valletta Waterfront will be open for patrons as of Thursday 2nd March, serving a large variety of beverages accompanied by a selective menu from the world renowned Hard Rock Cafe dishes.

Hard Rock Bar Malta will also feature a Rock Shop with authentic Hard Rock merchandise, as well as an area for special events and live music.

Furthermore, the bar will have a unique outdoor terrace, where guests can host private parties, while overlooking the Grand Harbour.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on Myspace

2006-02-23T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's official, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are now on Myspace.com. This is the only place on MySpace to get official and latest news, tour info, exclusive offers and more!

Go to www.myspace.com/tompetty and be a friend!
NOTE: Tom Petty or the Heartbreakers do not personally respond to emails at this site.

Tom Petty to Give Exclusive Interview at ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo

2006-02-18T12:46:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/17/2006 -- ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman today announced that Tom Petty will be a special guest at the ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 22. Given the unique nature of the first-ever conference devoted to songwriting and composing, Petty will be interviewed and then will answer questions from the audience of songwriters and composers.

Tom Petty is one of the most accomplished and respected songwriters in rock and roll history and has written some of the most memorable songs of his generation, including "American Girl," "Breakdown," "Refugee," "The Waiting," "You Don't Know How It Feels," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'," "Runnin' Down a Dream," and many more. Petty's music has been a fixture on the charts for three decades. He has received 16 Grammy nominations, and, along with his band the Heartbreakers, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ASCAP presented its prestigious Golden Note Award to Petty in 1996. Last year, Petty's first biography, "Conversations with Tom Petty," was released, and he was presented with the Century Award, Billboard magazine's highest honor for creative achievement. This year, Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers, who will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut, will headline the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN, on June 16.

Marilyn Bergman commented: "Tom Petty is one of rock's consummate craftsmen, and his music is beloved by fans around the world. As a master songwriter with a long and distinguished career, he has achieved commercial success and maintained artistic integrity in the music business like few others. His conversation with fellow writers at the ASCAP 'I Create Music' EXPO will be an inspiration and a highlight of the event."

Petty joins an unprecedented lineup of songwriters, composers and producers who will be participating at the EXPO, including Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Glen Ballard, Desmond Child, Hal David, Mike Elizondo, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Jimmy Jam, Johnny Mandel, Mary Mary, Rudy Perez, Linda Perry, Stephen Schwartz, Jimmy Webb, John Rich of Big & Rich, Jill Scott, Timbaland, Jaci Velasquez, and newly announced panelists Eric Bazilian, Dan Foliart, and many more. For a complete list of panelists, and more detailed information, go to www.ascap.com/expo.

The ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO, which takes place April 20-22, 2006, is the first and only national conference dedicated to songwriting and composing that is designed to bring together music creators with music industry professionals who want to work together to achieve greater success. All music creators, producers, publishers and executives, regardless of affiliation, will benefit from this unique creative event, which will be presented in a stimulating format designed to facilitate personal interaction, education and networking. Programs will include panels, workshops, master classes, keynotes, song critiquing, product displays, state-of-the-art technology demonstrations, performances, and more.