Smoking Section by Austin Scaggs

Top of the Line Hooker Billy Joel Talks Shea Stadium and McCartney

February 18, 2009 2:49 PM

Photo: Mazur/WireImage
It's always a blast to rap with Billy Joel. He's funny as hell, and doesn't give a shit about speaking his mind. 

The last time we'd caught up with Billy was at Shea Stadium last July, moments before he took the stage for the opener of his sold-out two-night stand there, in which he welcomed guests like Tony Bennett, Don Henley, John Mayer and Paul McCartney. 

This morning we spoke to Billy for an upcoming Q+A in the magazine. In just a couple weeks, on March 2nd, in Jacksonville, he'll kick off another long run of shows with his old buddy, Elton John. Billy has just returned to his pad in Miami after a trek out west to play a gig at the MGM in Vegas, and a private gig in Palm Springs. Most big performers play those corporate gigs for big bucks, but nobody ever talks about them -- except for Mr. Joel.

"We did a gig in Vegas and we did some stupid casino gig in Palm Springs for one of the high rollers there," he says. "These private gigs are like doing a bar mitzvah. They're not fun because they're for private audiences, not paying audiences. They're not your audience. They don't know your stuff. They're there just to say they were there. I feel like a slut when I do them, but you get paid like a really good call girl. When I walk offstage, it's like the walk of shame."

Yes! Billy Joel compared himself to a call girl!

And we also wanted you to hear what he had to say about McCartney's last minute appearance at Shea, which closed the second show. (A DVD of the Shea shows is slated for release in November.) 

"When I had reached out to Paul before the gigs, he'd said he had a scheduling conflict, that he had visitation with his daughter right around that time, and I understood that," says Billy. "So nobody expected him. Then he called me on the day of the second show, that afternoon, and said, 'Billy, it's Paul.' And I'm thinking, 'Paul? Paul? Paul Reiser?' And he said, [imitating a Liverpudlian] 'McCartney... Look, I'd love to come to the show tonight, but I've got a flight that's landing late and I'll have to go through customs and immigration and drive down from the airport and I don't think it's gonna work.' And I said, 'Well, thanks for thinking about us.'

"About two-thirds of the way through the show I was onstage and I got a message: 'The Eagle Has Landed.' But we still didn't think he was gonna make it because we were getting close to the end of the show. And then right at the last moment, right before our last song, someone came running up and told me he was up there. Somehow, he had his Hofner bass with him, and he just walked onstage. We were all speechless. He comes over and says, 'What do you want to do?' And I said, 'How about, "I Saw Her Standing There,"' and he goes, 'Great!' So we play 'I Saw Her Standing There" and then we leave, and we're standing by the side of the stage and the crowd wanted another song, of course. So he goes, 'What do you want to do?' And I said, 'How about "She Loves You?"' And he gave me this look like, 'Oh, I don't know that one,' which really meant, 'I don't like that one.' And I said, 'Well, what do you want to do?'

"He goes, 'Well, let's do "Let it Be." That seems to be a good closer.' I said, 'Perfect.' So he sang the song and I just sat at the piano like a lump on a log watching Paul McCartney play at Shea Stadium. It was such a poetic moment. We were all stunned."

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Jeff Beck Announces Club Tour!

February 18, 2009 12:06 PM

After his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 4th, guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck has booked a ridiculously intimate, thirteen-date swing through the U.S., where he'll play clubs like Philly's Electric Factory and New York's Irving Plaza.

But we'll tell you what we're most excited about, is finally seeing Beck's young female bass-phenom Tal Wilkenfeld live and in-person.

Growing up in Australia, Wilkenfeld played guitar, but found her calling when she switched over to bass at age seventeen. She dropped out of high school, moved to New York, and started playing with session heavyweights (and Steely Dan vets) like guitarist Wayne Krantz and monster-drummer Keith Carlock.

Click here to check out Tal's website. Click below to watch her take a crazy solo on Beck's "Cause We Ended As Lovers" at the Crossroads Guitar Fest a couple years back.

She's an animal!!! 

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Daptone Records Robbed, Rod Stewart Sessions in Doubt

February 17, 2009 12:50 PM

Photo: Walter/Getty

Bummer.

This past weekend in Brooklyn the headquarters of soul purveyors Daptone Records was robbed -- thieves making off with a slew of guitars, mics, pre-amps, turntables, amps and computers. 

Daptone is the home of the Dap-Kings -- the band that rose to fame after backing Amy Winehouse on Back To Black, and who also tour with soul legend Sharon Jones. In a plea to fans to keep an eye out for the stolen gear, Dap-Kings bassist Gabriel Roth said that the equipment was all uninsured.

In an odd twist, he said that they hoped to borrow equipment to have the studio up and running by Friday, because that day have a session booked to lay down material for a new Rod Stewart album.   

Rod and the Dap-Kings sounds good to us.

Let's hope it still happens.

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Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction Update

February 17, 2009 12:39 PM

Photo: Venema/WireImage

The speculation has finally been put to rest. After fans tried to unravel the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction puzzle Trent Reznor presented to them in the form of pictures on the NIN website and cryptic Twitter messages, the game is over.

As we predicted, Reznor is producing a new Jane's album (the first since 2003's Strays). And the bands will tour together later this year!

The rub is that Reznor has decided that this will be the last NIN tour for some time. In a post on the NIN forum, he writes: "2009 marks the 20th anniversary of our first releases. I've been thinking for some time now it's time to make NIN disappear for a while." 

Just how long "a while" means is hard to tell, but the last time NIN went on hiatus it took six years for a new album to emerge!

(more...)

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More: Industry News, New Album

Pearl Jam Debut Two "New" Tracks From Ten Reissue, Only In the Smoking Section

February 17, 2009 12:20 PM

Photo: Temme/WireImage

Pearl Jam fans, here ya go. 

For the first time anywhere, check out two tracks from the upcoming reissue of Pearl Jam's epic 1991 debut, Ten. Check out a leaner, grittier, nastier mix of "Porch," and then dig "Brother," a Ten outtake.

On March 24th, Pearl Jam will reissue Ten. Longtime producer Brendan O'Brien has remixed the original tracks -- which, we can attest, sound better than the original versions -- and a slew of B-sides and rarities will be included. The reissued album will come in four different special editions, each containing a remastered copy of the original album, plus the O'Brien remixed version.

Dig it.

"Porch"

"Brother"

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More: New Album, New Tracks

Ron Wood, The Dead Rumored To Join the Allmans

February 17, 2009 11:53 AM

Photo: Oser/AFP/Getty

We've got more rumors to share with you about the Allman Brothers upcoming twenty-night stand at New York's Beacon Theater!


The latest is that Ron Wood will spend at least one evening sitting in with the Allmans. 

The same goes for the surviving members of the Grateful Dead.

Discuss.

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More: Concerts

Rumors Fly About New Bob Dylan Album

February 17, 2009 11:29 AM

Photo: Caulfield/WireImage

While the Smoking Section is in no position to confirm or deny the existence of a spankin' new studio album by Bob Dylan, we thought we should tell you about some of the news we've read on hardcore Dylan fan sites.

A post at neverendingpool.com reads, "A completely new Bob Dylan album is in the can. Our understanding is that the album was recorded last October in California.... The album is expected to contain ten tracks... There are also rumors that the musicians are not all from the current touring band."

Another site elaborates, "Donnie Herron [who plays a variety of stringed instruments in Dylan's band] did say that they cut several songs with Mike Campbell [of the Heartbreakers] at a large L.A. studio. I know Benmont Tench [the Heartbreakers' keyboard player] was also working on that project."

Sounds pretty sick, right?

Looks like the hypothetical album may be released in late April. 

Dylan is on such a ridiculously hot streak right now -- Modern Times and Love & Theft, not to mention Telltale Signs -- that this new shit is definitely going to blow our minds!

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More: New Album

More Details About Clapton Joining Allman Brothers at Beacon!!!

February 13, 2009 1:14 PM

Photo: Allan/WireImage

We told you first right here in the Smoking Section that the Allman Brothers' epic 2009 stand at New York's Beacon Theater will serve as a tribute late guitar wizard Duane "Skydog" Allman. The fifteen dates in Manhattan -- between March 9th and March 28th -- will also celebrate the Allman's 40th anniversary, and marks 20 years since they began ripping shit up at the Beacon.

Some of you didn't believe us when we said that Eric Clapton would be sitting in with the Allmans on select nights. You folks can suck it! Clapton WILL appear at two shows -- on March 19th and 20th!!!

We also predicted that Dickey Betts would return to join his former band, a claim that the Allmans' manager called "patently false."

We're sticking with our prediction! Why not!

And whether or not you catch a Clapton night, each and every one of the shows are going to be sick!!!

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The Roots' ?uestlove Talks Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

February 13, 2009 12:48 PM

Photo: Kisby/Getty

It's always a learning experience to chat with the Roots bad-ass drummer ?uestlove. Last night we chatted with him about the Grammys -- where he, by extension, won two Grammys for his production work on Al Green's 2008 disc, Lay It Down -- and ?uesto also gave us the scoop on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which hits NBC on March 2nd. As you probably know, the Roots will be the house band, and ?uestlove will follow in the footsteps of Paul Shaffer and Max Weinberg, as a bandleader and comedic foil. Here ya go:  

• Grammy producers were desperate to find a replacement for their Chris Brown/Rihanna slot: "It was very interesting watching them run around the audience," he says. "Initially they were trying to get Justin, Kenny Chesney and Al Green, but Kenny was too nervous, so he dropped out at the last minute."

• The Roots will commute to New York City from Philly to tape their Fallon segments: "Were commuting via tour bus every morning at 8 am," he says. "I have to do adult shit now, like go to bed before 11, which I've yet to do."
  
• NBC will no longer pay for published music: That means, the only thing that the Roots can play are original songs. "We have to write 200 new songs, which will probably last about a year," he says. "We've written about 55 so far."

• ?uestlove gives each piece of music a special name: "Some people call them beds or bumpers," he says, about the musical interludes that tie a late night show together. "I call them sandwiches. If the song sounds like the Meters, then we call it a po boy sandwich. If it's pop, i call it the Subway sandwich. Disco or Philly soul, we call it a cheese steak. When we're referencing some UK rock shit, that's the Marmite sandwich. If it has a didgeridoo, then it's a Vegemite sandwich."

•  The Roots will not be retiring from the road!: "We didn't tell anybody we were retiring! I never want to pull some Eagles/Kiss shit where it's like, 'Okay, this is the last time you'll see us.' "They'll allow us ten weeks of touring time every year. We'll start with five shows each week night, but I'm certain that Jimmy will want to do it Letterman-style, taping two shows one night so we can get Fridays off. That's an extra 52 days so I'm sure we'll fill those up with shows." Roots are also planning to host a regular late-night residency at New York's Highline Ballroom, beginning March 5th. 

• The Roots are booked for five years: "I think if Jimmy turns on the charm like he did on Saturday Night Live, I'm almost certain that this show will work. Anything can happen. Knock on wood that this isn't the Chevy Chase Show or the Magic Hour. 

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Blink and Bizkit? Good Lord, Murder Us Now

February 12, 2009 5:54 PM

Photo: Granitz/WireImage

In the last week news has come down the pipeline that both Limp Bizkit and Blink-182 will be reuniting. 

We think that they should join forces for an all-out suckfest called Blimp-Shit.

Honestly, we'd rather see Nickelstank -- a fictitious band consisting of members from Nickelback and Hoobastank -- or, along those lines, how about Toad the Wet Starship, the Spin Travelers, or Third Eye Buffett?    

We were at the Grammy ceremony, where the Blink dudes "surprised" the crowd with news of the reunion. After that announcement the sound of crickets could be heard all over the Staples Center.

And where do we even begin with Limp Bizkit? 

In a joint statement, Fred Turdst and Wes Borland said, "We decided we were more disgusted and bored with the state of heavy popular music than we were with each other. Regardless of where our separate paths have taken us, we recognize there is a powerful and unique energy with this particular group of people we have not found anywhere else. This is why Limp Bizkit is back."

Best of luck to them, but our question is this: Which reunion do you give less of a shit about?

Tough call. 

Limp, it is.

What about you?

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More: Reunion
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