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Paul McCartney announces details of ambitious 'Band on the Run' album reissue - Paul McCartney Examiner

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Fan's open letter offers website to Paul McCartney

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Fan's open letter offers website to Paul McCartney
[Posted by Dave Haber on Wednesday, 09/08/10 4:01 pm] [Full Blog] [Tweet This]

Eduardo Camboim lives in Brazil and is a Paul McCartney fan. He owns the Brazil internet domain name www.paulmccartney.com.br which he bought so that Paul could have it before it was taken by someone else. He wants to give ownership of this domain, plus one other he also owns, www.upandcomingtour.com, to Paul, but he doesn't know how to contact him. So, he's put on these sites an open letter to Paul, and he's hoping Paul somehow gets to read it.

Eduardo says, "I've been trying to contact Paul and any people near him that could tell him something by many ways like emails, letters, twitter etc, and the only two people who responded to me so far are Ray Bryan who is the guitarist of Paul, where at twitter said he could not help me because it was not his department or concern."

Eduardo says he's also received an email from the IT Manager of MPL Communications who told him he could transfer the domain to the MPL through them. But Eduardo is one of Paul's biggest fans, and is really hoping for a direct response from Paul, so that Paul can know he never wanted any money for the sites.

You can check out Eduardo's letter to Paul at www.paulmccartney.com.br, especially if you're someone like an ex-Beatle or James McCartney's dad...

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McCartney to play at Coachella

Paul is no stranger to performing at festivals, as we all have seen at the Glastonbury festival a few years back, but this announcement comes as a bit of a surprise.  The Coachella Festival is the hipster of all hipsters.  We have to admit that it’s a little strange to hear that a Beatle is playing at this cutting edge festival.  It’s a little weird to be hearing  Portishead or Sigur Ros and even Morrisey in the same breath.  There are hipster indie bands, and then there is the thought of a Beatle.

I guess it’s most strange knowing that Paul never, at least late in his career, aged as a “cool” guy.  He always held his artistic credibility, but did many things that are quite cringe-worthy.  That cool factor kind of dropped a bit.  In recent times, though Paul’s cool temperature is red hot.  He’s got several artistic and adventurous solo albums, and has also produced a remix album, and avant-garde album under a different moniker that would make the coolest hipster nod in approval.  Maybe a Fireman tune or two will make a Coachella appearance as well, it’s nothing too much just out of sight.

Here’s what we’ve read.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival got famous by presenting the sounds of today and tomorrow. But this year California’s most celebrated live-music event is gambling on Paul McCartney and the music of “Yesterday.”

Booking the former Beatle, who is listed in the record books as the most successful musician in pop history, would be the safest choice imaginable for most music festivals. But the internationally respected Coachella festival, which is set for April 17-19, has been pulling in crowds of more than 140,000 fans by taking an edgier path with alt-rock heroes you would hear on a college town’s pirate radio station.

Presented with a chance to tap into music history and veteran star power, the promoters have signed the 66-year-old icon, who personifies the mature pop mainstream. The move could help the festival compete amid a grim economy and a host of imitators that have sprung up across the country; the news of McCartney’s presence — for better or worse — instantly will make Coachella a hot topic with music fans nationwide who have been anxiously awaiting the list of this year’s headliners.

What remains to be seen is whether the choice will cost the festival credibility with its core clientele: young fans who are more likely to listen to the White Stripes than the “White Album” and who are far more familiar with Rage Against the Machine than “Band on the Run.”

From Paris, McCartney sent word Thursday that he was thrilled with the idea of playing to a new crowd. “I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world,” he said in a statement sent to The Times. “I’m really excited to get out there and rock!”

McCartney is just one of 120 acts at the festival. Most of them, including the Killers, Franz Ferdinand and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, perfectly fit the event’s tradition of connoisseur alt-rock.

There also will be sets by the Cure, Morrissey and My Bloody Valentine, three revered acts from the 1980s and 1990s British scene, as well as a performance from neo-soul singer Amy Winehouse, whose train-wreck tabloid life has made her a digital age version of Janis Joplin.

Still, despite those compelling bookings, Paul Tollett, the festival’s chief architect, knows that his decision to bring in a living legend from the 1960s will dominate discussion between now and Sir Paul’s main-stage set on the festival’s first night.

One-fourth of the Fab Four is big news no matter the year.

“This is a Beatle. That’s huge,” said Tollett, who has shown a flair for surprises in recent years. He and his partners at concert promotion company AEG booked Madonna in 2006, but the setting — a dance-tent instead of the main stage — made it an isolated, intriguing experiment.

The Coachella team also has brought in Willie Nelson, Pink Floyd alum Roger Waters and Prince, and this year has elegiac folk songwriter Leonard Cohen, who has not performed in the U.S. since 1993.

But each of those curveball performers has a maverick sensibility that connects with Coachella’s indie-rock streak. McCartney is still the man who sang “Silly Love Songs.”

There are plenty of people in the music industry who say it’s foolish to doubt the Coachella leadership — or that Beatles songbook.

“If they can pull off Madonna at Coachella, they can do anything,” said Gary Bongiovanni, the editor in chief of Pollstar, the concert-industry trade publication. “Coachella is the king. I can see McCartney wanting to play Coachella because it gives him the chance to reach a different audience.”

“I’m not sure what Coachella gets from him, though,” Bongiovanni said. “It may pull in some older fans, but for the usual Coachella audience, I don’t know that they will really get excited about seeing him — although they might enjoy the show once they are there.”

The legacy of the Beatles echoes throughout every corner of modern music, and Coachella fans have heard it firsthand in past performances by Oasis, Coldplay, the Verve and plenty of other stars who draw on the Fab Four. To win over the crowd, McCartney will probably steer clear of “Say Say Say” and lean into edgier material such as “Helter Skelter” and “Live and Let Die.”

McCartney, whose romantic life has been a topic of intense interest in the British press, has been a rejuvenated music figure in recent years. Critics praised last year’s “Electric Arguments,” the third album released under the name the Fireman, McCartney’s electronic-minded collaboration with producer Youth.

His more traditional solo work in the last few years has included “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard,” the 2005 release that was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including album of the year.

It’s safe to say that many Coachella fans will shrug when they see McCartney’s name on the list of performers. Tollett said there was a significant percentage of return customers who ignore the main stage altogether.

“A lot of people come to see bands that they don’t know much about yet,” Tollett said.

This year some of the up-and-coming acts include TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Glasvegas, White Lies, the Knux, the Ting Tings and Beirut. Veterans such as X, Paul Weller and Public Enemy also will draw many fans.

Still, despite pent-up interest, the festival at the Empire Polo Club is up against dismal economic realities.

Tickets go on sale today at 9 a.m., with a three-day pass going for $281 and single-day admission for $103. That’s a lot for young fans and European visitors, who also might consider rival summer festivals such as Bonnaroo in Tennessee (which reportedly will be headlined by Bruce Springsteen and Phish) and Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Coachella promoters have announced a layaway payment plan for the first time and will be heavily promoting the $55-per-person on-site camping option.

Tollett also organizes the Stagecoach Festival, a late April country music version of Coachella in Indio, and 24% of the tickets sold to date have been through a similar layaway program.

“These are tough times for people,” he said, “and we’ll do what it takes to get them to come to the show.”

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VIDEO: Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl rock the Grammy awards.

In case you missed it, Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl ROCKED the Grammy Awards last night.  This wasn’t Paul and Dave’s first time together performing in recent memory.

“I Saw Her Standing There” (Feb 2009)

Here’s Paul and Dave Grohl live together at Anfield from last year in case you missed it.

“Band on the Run” (June 2008)

No Paul did not win a grammy award for His Amoeba EP, but it was an outstanding star-studded night.  Checkout the complete list of winners here. As the article indicates, it was a mini-British invasion of sorts with several Brits snapping up many many awards.

Filed under: Audio, Beatle Tours, Beatles News, Beatles in Print, Celebrity Sightings, Paul, Video

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Paul McCartney: A Fireman Interviewed.

Paul McCartney has been on nothing but a roll with his latest string of albums.  OK, really since Flaming Pie, he’s been on an outstanding run that has been nothing but outstanding.  Those late-career solo albums are all simply stunning.  It’s really hard to find a true clunker in there at all.  His latest masterpiece, while not a proper McCartney solo album, is one his best solo releases period.
The same can be said for interviews as of late with Sir Paul.  Since his divorce Paul has approached the media with a sense of openess and reflection that we have not seen or heard for many many years.  Yes, sone of Paul’s interview answers are canned and retreads, but ever the public figure, Paul is able to always give us new insights into his mind, and life.  Ever informative and entertaining.
Here’s what we’ve read.

I imagine you know who Paul McCartney is, but here are some recent data: He’s 66 years old, single and financially secure. He recently released Electric Arguments, the third album by Fireman, an ongoing McCartney side project that represents the former Beatle’s foray into trance and dance music. Composed of McCartney and British producer/deejay Youth, Fireman opens its third full-length release with “Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight,” a tune that features the most bone-rattling vocal McCartney’s delivered since “Helter Skelter.” The first time I heard it on the radio, I thought it was Jack White. Not bad for a 66-year-old. On the occasion of the album’s release, McCartney agreed to a short chat.
L.A. WEEKLY: At what point did you become an adult?
PAUL McCARTNEY: When my first baby was born.
How old do you feel emotionally?
Twenty-five.
What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome in your life?
Linda’s death.
What was it about Linda Eastman that made her such a stabilizing force in your life?
She was just such a supercool girl. She just was. She was supercool.
Do you believe in destiny?
Yes.
Do you believe in karma, or do some people get away with murder?
I believe in karma (laughing), and I believe people get away with murder, too. For a while. Somewhere down the line everyone must pay for their misdeeds.
The Beatles’ music was always wonderful, but at a certain point it became something more than entertainment; at what point did you know that the work you were doing was important?
It’s difficult to discuss this without sounding immodest, but I think I started to feel it around the time of “Eleanor Rigby.” Prior to that, I thought the music was very good, and I realized we were in a different league when we wrote “From Me To You,” because it had a middle eight in it and went somewhere we hadn’t been before, but you used the word “important.” For me, “Eleanor Rigby” was the start of that.
Does music have the power to bring about social change?
Yeah, that’s a proven fact. “We Shall Overcome” and “Give Peace a Chance” are two examples, and there are thousands of less obvious examples. “We Shall Overcome” is inextricably bound up with the civil rights movement, and “Give Peace a Chance” equals Vietnam. Those are two huge events, and that music was hugely important to them.
Is it important that your music be commercially successful?
It’s not important, but it’s preferable. I like the idea that people hear my stuff, and if it’s commercially successful, that’s a good sign that it’s being heard.
What’s the most significant difference between work you do as Fireman and the rest of your music?
Fireman is improvisational theater. When I sit down to write a song, it’s a kind of improvisation, but I formalize it a bit to get it into the studio, and when I step up to a microphone, I have a vague idea of what I’m about to do. I usually have a song, and I know the melody and lyrics, and my performance is the only unknown. In this case, I had neither lyrics nor melody to go on — and it felt great. The previous Fireman record didn’t have vocals, so when we began adding them for this record, the music moved into the area of improvisational theater, as the lyrics were improvised in the studio as well. I’d arrive at the studio in the morning and the first thing I’d do would be to apologize to the engineers. I’d say “Okay, guys, this could really be the most serious error of my career.”
Working that way, how do you know when a piece of music is finished?
Instinct. I paint, and that’s the trick with painting, too, particularly if you paint in the abstract form. You’ve just got to know when it’s time to stop.
To what degree was the music sculpted in the editing?
Very much, and that’s where Youth comes in. I trust him implicitly. He’s a deejay, and I went to one of his gigs to watch him work and he’s good. He mixes stuff there and then, and it’s the same process with Fireman. He takes everything I throw at him and selects what he thinks is the best, and 99 percent of the time I agree with him.
What’s the most useful thing about money?
Helping people who are ill. I have a very large family and if anybody gets ill, I can help them.
What’s the biggest problem money creates?
Wow, you’re getting deep girl! I’ve never even met you! Okay, the biggest problem are the kinds of people who have license plates like one I saw in East Hampton: It read ‘rich 1.’ The kind of people who actually believe they’re cool because they’ve got money — I can‘t begin to describe the symptoms of that, but you know what I’m talking about.
What’s the most significant historical event you’ve witnessed?
The death of John Kennedy. He was our hope and he got wiped out, and we hadn’t realized that hope could get wiped out quite so easily. But now Obama’s brought it back. I love it.
Is memory more apt to be a source of pain or pleasure?
Pleasure.
Do you feel nostalgic for the past?
Nostalgia’s not the right word because it implies something sort of wrong. I love the past. There are parts of the past I hate, of course. My mum died, Linda died, John died, and George died, so I can’t say I love everything about it, but I have a great affection for the past. And why shouldn’t I? I was just some kid from Liverpool, who walked around the streets with John Lennon, and wrote songs with him, and met this beautiful girl from New York, then married her and had kids with her — why shouldn’t I love the past? Mine has been good.
What aspect of the future, as you envision it, do you find most disturbing?
It’s not a good idea to look at, or for, disturbances. They come anyway, so I don’t invite them. Rather than just moan “We’re all fucked,” it’s better to work on avoiding them. A big subject of mine is a report recently completed by the U.N., called Livestock’s Long Shadow, which makes the point that the most important thing people could do for the future of the planet would be to eat vegetarian. Cattle rearing is one of the most destructive human activities on Earth, and at this point, it’s taking a bigger toll on the planet than airplanes and cars.
Are most people willing to change?
People are willing to change when they have to. I suppose people would all go to Disneyland and have milkshakes at McDonald’s and wear Bermuda shorts if you didn’t tell them it wasn’t a good idea, and sometimes we have no choice but to speak in their ears very loudly.
Would you agree that most artists do their best work when they’re hungry?
I think that’s probably true.
When people approach you on the street what do they want?
More often than not they just want to communicate, and it’s normally quite cool. Everybody these days has a camera on their phone, so now they ask, “Can I have a photograph with you?” I say, “I’d rather not, because if I have a photograph with you, then somebody else will see us and say, ‘I’ve got a phone and I’d like a photograph, too.’” It’s funny, I was talking to a celebrity friend, and he made the point that people who don’t even like your work line up for autographs and photographs, saying, “I can get one for my grandma!” Often, when I’m approached for a photograph or autograph, I try to persuade the person that what we really want is communication. That takes longer than signing a quick autograph, but it’s an important point to make.
Are you able to move about the world with freedom?
With impunity — I go into shops, to movies, and I walk around. I’m now in a car heading into London with my longtime assistant, and if we need to stop at a shop or a petrol station, we will. I’ve always held on to that, and it’s a very important part of who I am.
What an amazing thing, to be able to walk into a shop and make people happy simply by walking in.
Tell me about it! I’m very aware of that, and it’s incredible.

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