Page Fuels Led Zeppelin Fan Hopes: New Album, Tour?

Here’s some interesting post from the Gibson website…

As the days count down to Led Zeppelin’s reunion at the December 10 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute concert in London, new details surrounding the event continue to emerge, along with evidence of how truly fevered fan interest in the show हसAs the days count down to Led Zeppelin’s reunion at the December 10 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute concert in London, new details surrounding the event continue to emerge, along with evidence of how truly fevered fan interest in the show has become।

Some tantalizing reports even suggest the reunion will be ongoing, not merely a one-off like previous Zep appearances at Live Aid and the subsequent Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary tribute of 1988।

• The BBC reports that the band held secret rehearsals prior to announcing the reunion gig. “We wanted to see how well we’d be playing together, and once we played, it was without doubt we wanted to do it,” Jimmy Page said. “The hardest thing of having anything to do with Led Zeppelin is getting together and rehearsing without anybody finding out about it.” In another interview, Page confirmed his reunited band had jammed together as early as June.

• A Glasgow BBC 2 listener paid £83,000 ($170,000) for a pair of tickets to see the reunited Zep perform. The tickets were auctioned to raise funds for the BBC’s Children in Need charity, which benefits disadvantaged youth in the U.K. Face value of the tickets was £250 ($510).

• Just as dairy farmer-turned-Glastonbury Festival promoter Michael Eavis received a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire honor from Queen Elizabeth II for helming the successful and long-running music event—700+ acts have played Glastonbury over the last 37 years—reports surfaced that Eavis had been in secret talks with Led Zeppelin to headline the 2008 concerts.

• Canada’s Winnipeg Sun newspaper also quotes Jimmy Page as saying he’d be “really surprised” if the current reunion didn’t lead to new studio recordings by the band, but he was more coy about a potential tour. “We’re musicians—as we’re playing we’ll probably be coming up with all manner of things,” Page told the paper. “That will be fun. Let’s do the [upcoming] show, shall we? And then we’ll speak to you afterwards.”

• Further revving fan’s hopes is an interview Reuters recently conducted with Page, wherein he announced that Led Zeppelin will debut a song they’ve never before played live। “There’s one number that we rehearsed, I assume that it will make it to the Dome, that we never played at any point in time,” Page said। “It dates from when the band was together between 1968 and 1980. It’s a really intense number.”

For guitarists, here’s an interesting question: will Jimmy Page use a setup similar to the one he’s used in the 70’s heydays, or will he use the custom-made pedalboard made for him in the 90s, by Pete Cornish? Here’s the info about his later-day gear:

JIMMY PAGE’S GUITAR/EFFECTS/AMPS FLOOR SYSTEM

[from Pete Cornish’s Website]

“After extensive testing and comparisons of various effects pedals and amplifiers by Jimmy and his technician we were asked to build an effects system that would operate with equal efficiency in every country in the world and incorporate all Jimmy’s chosen effects and route the signal to several amplifiers.

Most of the effects had so called “true bypass” footswitches and we decided to investigate whether we could use this system with the entire collection of effects and amps as so many manufacturers offer the “true bypass” as the ultimate type of switching.

Our findings were that the “true bypass” did NOT create unified signal level or tone from the guitar for the following reason:

Take for instance a 5m guitar cable linked to six pedals, each linked by a 1m cable, and then on to the amp by say a 15m cable. If all pedals have “true bypass”, and are off, then the total cable length hanging on the guitar output will be 25m. This will cause a huge loss of tone and signal level particularly if the guitar is a vintage type with low output. The amp volume is then turned up and the treble control increased to compensate for the losses.

The inherent background noise now increases by the amount of the gain and treble increase and is usually, in my experience, too bad for serious work. If one of the pedals is now switched on, then it’s high input impedance (and usually low output impedance) will buffer the output cables from the guitar; the signal level and treble content will rise due to the removal of some of the load on the pickups (i.e. 6m instead of 25m of cable). If that pedal was for example a chorus or delay, devices which are usually unity gain, then the overall signal level and tone will vary each time an effect is added…not a very good idea.

The “Pete Cornish System”, which we devised in the early 70’s, is to feed the guitar into a fixed high impedance load, which is identical to the amp input, and then distribute the signal to the various effects and amps by low impedance buffered feeds. This gives a constant signal level and tonal characteristics from the guitar, which do not change at all when effects are added. The proof that this works are in the recordings of our clients: Roxy Music; The Police; Queen; Pink Floyd; Bryan Adams; Lou Reed; Dire Straits; Paul McCartney; Sting; Judas Priest; Black Sabbath….

For Jimmy’s stage system, we fitted additional high impedance pre-amps between each effect to further isolate each one from the next in line. We also provided two send/return circuits so that new effects could be added at a later date and another send/return to Jimmy’s Echoplex. The four isolated outputs to the stage amplifiers each had a line driver fitted to overcome the very long across-stage cables (total length 64m).

To ensure that the sound of the guitar and effects would remain constant at each venue across the world we designed “super regulated” dc power supplies to suit both the effects and the audio frequency pre-amps. Each effect and pre-amp had it’s own isolated dc feed which we know helps to prevent cross-leakage of effect signals: for example upper harmonic distortion products can leak into clean chorus circuits through a common power supply if this precaution is not taken.

Jimmy was very pleased with his “Pete Cornish Guitar/Effects/Amps System” and it has proved most reliable and convenient to set up, as all the effects and routing are permanently in the correct
order and it is so simple to “just plug in and play…”

GUITAR SYSTEM S/No: 257
DESIGNED AND BUILT BY PETE AND LYNDA CORNISH
OCTOBER १९९३

Signal Routing:

Guitars connected to Pete Cornish Input Selector and Line Driver (off stage) via Pete Cornish HD Guitar Cables
Selected Guitar Signal to Effects / Amps Pedalboard via Pete Cornish Custom
Signal Cable Loom (Loom includes Amp Feeds and Remote Mute Control)
Pedalboard Input - Unity Gain
Emergency Automatic Mechanical Bypass to Output #1 in case of Power Failure
Send / Return to Spare FX #1 with Bypass Switch
Roger Meyer Voodoo Fuzz - Removed in January 1996 - Replaced by Amp Lead switch for 2 off Fender Tone Master
MXR Phase 90 with Bypass Switch
Yamaha CH-10Mk II Chorus with Bypass Switch
Send / Return to Spare FX #2 with Bypass Switch
Boss CE-2 Chorus with Bypass Switch
Jen Cry-Baby Wah with Bypass Switch
Digitec WH-1 Whammy + Pete Cornish Linear Boost 0/+20dB with Bypass Switch
Send / Return to Echoplex EP3 (modified by Pete Cornish) with Adjustable Gain and Bypass Switch
Linear Boost all Outputs 0/+20dB with Bypass Switch
Master Volume
Local and Remote Mute All Outputs
3 off Outputs to Amps - Output #4 added January 1995
115V Output to Echoplex

AMPS:

2 off Fender Tone-Master S/Nos: 0869/0864
2 off Vox AC30 (Original T.Boost Model)

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Snoop Dogg to release new album

Snoop Dogg is set to release his new album next year.

'Ego Trippin'' is due out in March.

The first single is set to be 'Sensual Seduction', which was produced by Snoop and Shawty Redd.

Snoop said of the track: "'Sensual Seduction' is like a throwback feelgood song. I wanted to have fun with this one ... and the video is crazy!"

The promo sees the rapper in 1980s setting, surrounded by lookalikes of bands from that decade including Vanity 6 and The Mary Jane Girls, reports SOHH.

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Janet Jackson Speaks Of New Album

Janet Jackson did a live telephone interview this morning with Atlanta’s Q100.5 where she revealed that her upcoming album will be released sometime before March.She’s currently working on the LP in Atlanta and said that Jermaine Dupri has not yet done any work on the project.Jackson also said she is in heavy talks with Maroon 5,and there is more than a possibility of the group contributing to the LP.

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When rockers cut ties from labels

Trent Reznor of the band Nine Inch Nails walked into the Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters of Musicane last month and stunned the start-up's employees with his tech knowledge and fierce attention to detail.

Typically, when an artist signs on with Musicane, a company that helps musicians distribute their music online, they are satisfied with letting Musicane's programmers, administrators and designers (William Adams, or "Will.i.am", of the Black Eyed Peas is the company's marketing chief) make the decisions, said CEO Sudhin Shahani.

Not Reznor. He had ideas about bit rates, Web design and pricing. Reznor even toiled over the text messages customers would receive when their purchases were confirmed. And all this work was for someone else's album. Reznor had hired Musicane to provide fulfillment for The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust a record by rapper Saul Williams, which went on sale last Thursday on Williams' site. Reznor was the album's producer.

"Trent is well-informed, articulate and is very knowledgeable about technology," Shahani said. "We had a great meeting, but he didn't hesitate to disagree or say what was on his mind. He was extremely detail-oriented. There's not a word on the site that he didn't read or most likely, write himself."

Reznor last month left music label EMI, and the administrative tasks he undertook for Williams could teach him some valuable lessons. Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Oasis, Madonna and a growing number of music artists have fled the big record companies and are taking more control of their music distribution. While striking out on their own offers more freedom, the performers also lose the label's prodigious distribution and marketing muscle.

In the future, these musicians may find themselves being forced to make decisions about technology, customer service, and marketing. That's where companies like Musicane, Indie911, Fuzz, Snocap, TuneCore, and dozens of others come in. They offer to free artists from the music-label yoke by helping them manage the chores that come with selling music online.

In the case of NiggyTardust, Musicane distributes the digital downloads, accepts credit card transactions, and provides customer service. Shahani declined to say what the company charged Williams for the service, but he did say Musicane typically receives a 20 percent cut of all transactions.

The company, founded by Shahani, 24, and Vikramaditya Jain, 25, also provides promotion assistance by providing artists with a media player that fans can embed on Web sites, blogs, and social-network profiles.

The player presents a performer's music, videos, photos and text, and allows fans to buy music or merchandise without being sent to a new Web page. Snocap has a similar tool, which it refers to as a digital-music vending machine.

Music promotion is vital to Internet music sales because this is the area where the labels are supposed to be strongest. As Shahani pointed out, the "labels are expert at making stars." While the Internet allows anyone to boost their profile by posting a Web page, how is an unknown act supposed to get heard when legions of performers are doing the same thing?

The Internet shouldn't be sold short as a platform to introduce new stars, Reznor said in an interview. The Web is starting to replace some of the traditional methods that record companies have used to promote acts. Yet, he's not totally sold on the popular belief that MySpace.com can help up-and-coming bands find an audience.

"I don't go on MySpace," Reznor said. "I find it chaotic, and it looks ugly to me. I've been going to more and more blogs to discover music. I think they're replacing radio stations and music magazines. I don't trust what Rolling Stone has to say. I don't believe them anymore. I go to a few Web sites that have similar tastes as I do."

Another factor that has irked music fans about downloads is copy-protection schemes. Musicane allows artists to choose whether they want Digital Rights Management (DRM) software attached to their music or not. In Williams' case, he and Reznor chose to deliver the songs in an MP3 format free of DRM. This allows users to play the songs on iPods, Zunes or any digital-music player.

Musicane also enables performers to offer music at different bit rates. Williams and Reznor decided to offer a choice of bit rates depending on how much fans forked over for the music. NiggyTardust can be obtained for free, but at that price the songs are only available at 192Kbps. For a US$5 donation, buyers get music at 320Kbps or the higher-end FLAC lossless format.

The technology is there to make bands their own music distributors, but there is still a large learning curve. For some, the transition has not been without its bumps. Last month when Radiohead released a digital version of its latest album, In Rainbows, some fans were miffed when heavy traffic at Radiohead's site caused long delays in downloading music.

And then there's the question of whether Musicane and similar services make sense for unknown acts that are still trying to build followings.

"For established musicians, it's a different ballgame," said Susan Kevorkian, a digital music analyst with IDC. "For bands who have worked with labels over the years and who have developed followings, the technology is in place to reach their fans much more directly without needing labels' marketing expertise. But for emerging groups to leverage the same technology to attract a following is a long row to hoe."

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Mika, Akon, Avril, Rihanna score at WMAs (+photos)

Mika, Akon, Rihanna and Avril Lavigne were the big winners at the World Music Awards.
Flamboyant singer Mika scooped four awards at the glitzy awards ceremony in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Mika won Male Entertainer of the Year, the World's Best-Selling New Artist, the World's Best-Selling Pop/Rock Male Artist and Britain's Best-Selling Artist. View Slideshow

Akon was celebrating after winning three awards. The hip-hop star's worldwide record sales secured him the R&B artist award - ahead of Fergie, Beyonce Knowles, Timbaland and Rihanna.

He was also crowned Africa's Best-Selling Artist and the World's Best-Selling Internet Artist.

Akon said: "You are witness to seeing me receive any kind of award for music the first time in my life."

Canadian singing legend Celine Dion and R+B superstar Patti LaBelle were both honoured at the star-studded ceremony.

Celine, who has sold a staggering 200 million albums worldwide, received the prestigious Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.v Monaco's Prince Albert, who presented Celine with the award, said: "Her contribution to music is as potent as her courageous voice. She soothes the world's hearts and create smiles of love across the face of the world."

Patti, whose career dates back to the 50s, was presented with the Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to R+B.

Patti, who wowed the crowd with a rendition of 'Lady Marmalade' said: "I love this show because it unites the world with music. It's not about making money, because I don't need money, but I need to sing."

Avril Lavigne, who thrilled fans with an energetic performance at the ceremony, saw off stiff competition from Nelly Furtado, Pink and Amy Winehouse to pick up the World's Best-Selling Pop/Rock Female Artist.

The Girlfriend singer was also named the Canada's Best-Selling Artist.

Rihanna - who also performed at the show - won Female Entertainer of the Year.

The Umbrella singer defeated chart rivals Beyonce and Shakira to be named the World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist.

Jennnifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony were both beaten to the World's Best-Selling Latin Artist by Mexican rock band Mana.

'Nip/Tuck' star Julian McMahon hosted the awards event, which honours artists based on worldwide album sales, as certified by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

World Music Awards 2007 list of winners:

Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to R+B: Patti LaBelle
Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music: Celine Dion
World's Best-Selling New Artist: Mika
World's Best-Selling Pop/Rock Male Artist: Mika
World's Best-Selling Pop/Rock Female Artist: Avril Lavigne
World's Best-Selling Rap/Hip-Hop Artist: 50 Cent
World's Best-Selling Rock Group: Linkin Park
World's Best-Selling R+B Artist: Akon
World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist: Rihanna
World's Best-Selling DJ: David Guetta
World's Best-Selling Latin Artist: Mana
Male Entertainer of the Year: Mika
Female Entertainer of the Year: Rihanna
World's Best-Selling Internet Artist: Akon

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