New Album Announced - Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John
New Album Announced - Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John

Juliana has announced her new album of Olivia Newton-John covers. Marvellous!

It will be released on April 13, 2018, via American Laundromat Records, titled "Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John".

Juliana:

I have never not loved Olivia Newton-John. Her music has brought me so much pure joy throughout my life. I loved her when I was a child and I love her still. Her voice and her positive energy and her melodies have stood the test of time and they give me as much pleasure now as they ever did. Listening to her is an escape into a beautiful place. She has inspired me so much personally and I just wanted to give something back; to share some of these tremendous songs, reinterpreted, with love, by me

American Laundromat Records:

One dollar from the sale of every album will be donated to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre (ONJ Centre), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing patients with cancer access to leading medical treatment, breakthrough research, and the best in wellness and supportive care.

Artwork

Track List:

  1. I Honestly Love You
  2. Suspended In Time
  3. Have You Never Been Mellow
  4. A Little More Love
  5. Magic
  6. Physical
  7. Totally Hot
  8. Don't Stop Believin'
  9. Please Mr. Please
  10. Hopelessly Devoted To You
  11. Xanadu
  12. Dancin' 'Round And 'Round
  13. Make A Move On Me
  14. I Honestly Love You (Reprise)*

*Track 14 is not on the vinyl LP but included on the digital download card.

Bonus 7-Inch Track List

  1. Deeper Than The Night
  2. Heart Attack

Availability

The release date is scheduled for April 13, 2018.

Vinyl, CD, and Cassette versions are available via a multitude of ordering options at American Laundromat Records, with some options also available through Cargo Records UK.

Original Olivia Songs

Here are unofficial Apple Music and Spotify playlists of all but one of the original Olivia songs Juliana is covering. (I made this using songs licensed for streaming in the UK. Hopefully they'll work worldwide)

Apple Music
Spotify

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Hey Babe 25th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue
Hey Babe 25th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue

American Laundromat Records:

We cannot be more excited to reissue Juliana Hatfield's debut album "Hey Babe" on vinyl to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. We took great care to have our friend and long-time collaborator, Sean Glonek at SRG Studios newly master from the original 1/4" analog tapes. The artwork has been recreated from the original LP art but with a little twist thanks to the skill and creativity of award-winning designer, Aaron Tanner of Melodic Virtue. This exclusive limited-edition pressing, in a single-pocket gatefold jacket, was pressed by hand at Burlington Record Plant in Burlington, VT.

Pressing Information:
Mystery Wild Card Color Vinyl (50 pressed) Label Exclusive
Clear Vinyl (100 pressed) Label Exclusive
Translucent Green Vinyl (175 pressed) Label Exclusive
Virgin Black Vinyl (325 pressed)
Translucent "Amethyst" Purple Vinyl (350 pressed)

*Please know due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to include digital downloads.

Artwork

Availability

The release date is scheduled for March 23, 2018.

There are all sorts of ordering options based around the aforementioned colours at American Laundromat Records.

Also, Cargo Records (UK) are offering the translucent purple version.

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Juliana Hatfield to headline Hot Stove show - The Boston Globe
Juliana Hatfield to headline Hot Stove show - The Boston Globe

Juliana Hatfield performing at Hot Stove Cool Music in January 2015. Photo © David Young

Mark Shanahan, for the Boston Globe reporting on an upcoming live appearance on February 3, 2018 at Boston's Paradise Rock Club, and a return to an event Juliana played in 2015:

...the benefit for Paul and Theo Epstein’s Foundation to Be Named Later will no doubt be a rocking good time. The show, which takes place Feb. 3 at the Paradise, will feature performances by Juliana Hatfield, Band of Their Own (including Kay Hanley and members of Belly and the Blake Babies), former Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo, and Peter Gammons and the Hot Stove All Stars featuring former Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams and Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper.

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Boston, MA - November 16, 2017 - Photos
Boston, MA - November 16, 2017 - Photos

Thursday last week saw the first of 3 consecutive nights at Paradise Rock Club, Boston where Blake Babies opened for Letters to Cleo.

Photos courtesy of David Young of Dry Eye Photography.

There are also photos at Vanyaland and YouTube clips across all nights including Out There, Girl In A Box, Baby Gets High, and Star.

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Rounder Records New Leader: 5 Questions With John Strohm - Birmingham, AL Patch
Rounder Records New Leader: 5 Questions With John Strohm - Birmingham, AL Patch

John P Strohm has a new job:

The music industry is changing almost daily with technological advancements, social media and the shifting population of music fans, and no one knows that better than John Strohm. Strohm, a former Birmingham resident and graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford, recently was named president of Rounder Records in Nashville, after years as a musician himself and an entertainment lawyer. But Strohm made a name for himself musically as a member of bands such as the Lemonheads, Blake Babies and Antenna, and help launch the careers of some of today's most successful musicians - including Alabama Shakes, Sturgill Simpson and the Civil Wars.

 

Patch caught up with Strohm to discuss his new gig as a record executive, what brought him here, and where music is headed as an industry.

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Upcoming Shows - Solo and Blake Babies - October, November 2017
Upcoming Shows - Solo and Blake Babies - October, November 2017

Juliana has announced that she will be appearing with Wesley Stace over three nights on October, performing "mostly solo and acoustic." One is as support and the other two are multi artist "Cabinet of Wonders" variety shows which have previously seen Juliana perform maybe a couple of songs.

Also, there's three Blake Babies shows coming up in November, opening for Letters to Cleo at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Yay!

"Mostly Solo Acoustic" Performances
October 2017
11 Hudson, NY - Club Helsinki (Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders - appearing with Charles Bock, Tracy Bonham, Dave Hill, Stephen Merritt, Suzzy Roche)
12 Ardmore, PA - The Ardmore Music Hall (opening for Wesley Stace)
13 New York City, NY - City Winery (Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders - appearing with Eric Andersen, Dave Hill, Stephen Merritt, Eugene Mirman, David Myles, Aparna Nancherla, Annalee Newitz)

Blake Babies Performances
November 2017
16 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club (opening for Letters to Cleo)
17 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club (opening for Letters to Cleo)
18 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club (opening for Letters to Cleo)

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New York City, NY - July 22, 2017 - Photos
New York City, NY - July 22, 2017 - Photos

Here's a set of David Young's photos from last weekend's Bowery Ballroom show in New York, where Juliana, Todd and Dean co-headlined with Jesse Malin.

Thanks as ever to David who now has a site to showcase his concert photography at dryeyephotography.com.

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Interview - Juliana Hatfield: Instincts on Overdrive | Premier Guitar
Interview - Juliana Hatfield: Instincts on Overdrive | Premier Guitar

Juliana, interviewed by Emile Menasché for Premier Guitar:

> “Touch You Again” and “When You’re a Star” have very distinctive riffs. Were they part of the song from the beginning?

Riffs usually come later. On “When You’re a Star,” we had the guitar and bass recorded. Then with that riff, it was like a light bulb going on over my head—I ran into the tracking room and recorded it. That happens a lot. The song will be recorded and I’ll hear a riff, melodically, in my head. I just have to transfer it from my brain onto the guitar.

> Do the vocal melodies come first?

Not always. Sometimes songs start with just chord progressions. But usually, once I have any kind of chord progression, the melody comes also. I often have melodies written ahead of the lyrics, which makes lyric writing more difficult because I have to fit them into these melodies.

I’ll get attached to sounds and then it takes a while for me to wrench my brain away from that and realize it’s okay to get unstuck. There were a couple of songs on the album where I was really stuck. “Everything Is Forgiven” moves around a lot. It was hard to fit words into that melody.

Sometimes I have a title and a melody, and I’m like “I’ve gotta get this goddam title in there!” “When You’re a Star” had to use those words: “When you’re a star, they let you.” It was like a puzzle. I figured out the only way to make it work was to change the order of the words around.

It's an excellent article split over 3 pages that covers many aspects of the Pussycat recording process from studio setup, guitar tuning, and song construction.

Also, given a little time has passed there's some retrospective thoughts on the lyrics and themes of the songs.

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Jazz London Radio - Audio Interview and Pussycat Review
Jazz London Radio - Audio Interview and Pussycat Review

Laurie Burnette, reviewing Pussycat for Jazz London Radio:

Juliana was instrumental in that scene; being part of The Lemonheads and Blake Babies; releasing her debut “Hey Babe” in 1992 then forming the Juliana Hatfield Three in 1993 releasing “Become What You Are” on Atlantic Records. Since then Juliana has released an incredible array of music both electric and acoustic but always with melody and great riffs at the heart of it. “Pussycat” definitely follows the trend of not only well produced tuneful rock, but with hard hitting subjects which Juliana is so good at writing; Juliana is not afraid to tackle issues or put the boot in if she feels it’s necessary! I have read that Pussycat is an angry album, even her “angriest ever”. I see it as a mix of social commentary on the state of the American political scene and some angst, something that has been disappearing from music in recent times in the mad scramble to sound conformist and make as much money as possible.

There's a 45 minute audio interview with Juliana at the end of the review which concludes with Burnette asking about the prospect of future European shows. Unsurprisingly there are "no plans", Juliana citing the 2014 Minor Alps tour as particularly exhausting, but as always she says nothing should be ruled out.

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Freda Love Smith's New Band - Sunshine Boys
Freda Love Smith's New Band - Sunshine Boys

Via bandcamp:

Sunshine Boys are a Chicago-based trio of veteran recording and touring artists from some of the most revered bands in indie rock. Featuring Freda Love Smith (Blake Babies, Antenna, Mysteries of Life), Jacqueline Schimmel (Justin Roberts, Big Hello), and Dag Juhlin (Poi Dog Pondering, The Slugs), Sunshine Boys offer a propulsive, melodic take on pop rock.

Listen to their debut single above and download / contribute at bandcamp.

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Interview - Juliana Hatfield - Nouvelle Vague
Interview - Juliana Hatfield - Nouvelle Vague

Juliana, interviewed by Christopher Mathieu for Nouvelle Vague:

NV - Il y a des artistes musicaux qui t’intéressent en-dehors du monde du rock ?

JH - Honnêtement, je ne suis pas très inspirée par beaucoup de musique récente parce que je n’en écoute pas beaucoup. Il y a bien du jazz et des vieux compositeurs pour piano que j’aime…

NV - Pas de musique électronique ou hip hop ?

JH - Il y a des artistes comme Kendrick Lamar que je trouve inspirant… en fait, j’écoute plein de choses diverses mais rien vraiment de bien précis.

It's a lengthy interview, where Juliana mentions that if she ever were to gain the rights to God's Foot she would intend to release it (yes!), future (hypothetical) collaborators on new music, and many other matters with questions covering her career.

It's in French but the linguistically challenged among us should be fine with a translator tool - the built in translator in Google Chrome does a grand job.

nouvelle-vague.com/juliana-hatfield/

 

 

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