Kings of Leon Plan to Take Band of Horses Out Drinking on Summer Tour - Spinner

Theo Wargo, WireImage

We're not really sure of the drinking habits thatBand of Horsesmay or may not have, personally -- for all we know, they might not even touch the stuff. However, that could all change this summer when Band of Horses open up forKings of Leonon a nationwide tour of America's finest summer sheds.

"We're all big fans of Band of Horses and have tried to get them for every tour, but it hasn't worked out until now,"Kings of Leon'sNathan Followill(pictured) tells Spinner."They are really sweet guys and we can't wait to turn them into alcoholics."

After suffering a minor setback last summer whenpigeon's poopedon their parade, Kings of Leon have continued to prove themselves worthy of their throne. Earlier this month, they pulled off another successful coup, storming the main stage headlining slot atCoachellawhich, Followill says, was"a blast. The crowd was a little sunburned but other than that it was a great night. Hydrate, people!"

Talking of hydration, Followill and his fellow band of brothers aren't kidding when they say they plan to drive Band of Horses to drink. This summer's tour with both bands is a two-month outing, which leaves all too much time for trouble. Not that Kings of Leon are rock's bad boys, per-se."We always try to play a local golf course or fly fish to keep things somewhat normal,"admits Followill. But..."if that doesn't work, we try to turn the opening band in alcoholics at local bars."

Looks like this could very well be the rock 'n' roll tour of the summer. The potential debauchery kicks-off on July 25 in Orange Beach, Ala. and wraps up in Seattle, Wash. on Sept. 12, just in time for last call.

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Steve Earle Talks 'Treme,' the BP Oil Spill and Coping With His Father's Death - Spinner

Ted Barron

It's a busy spring forSteve Earle. The country legend is currently filming new episodes of HBO's 'Treme' in New Orleans and his newT Bone Burnett-produced album, 'I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive,' will be released on April 26. The record shares a title with Earle's debut novel, which is due out May 12 and tells the story of a corrupt doctor who's haunted by the ghost ofHank Williams.

Spinner recently had a chance to speak with Earle about his projects, all of which are related to New Orleans and mortality, to varying degrees. In the candid interview below, he reveals how the death of his father inspired him to examine his life and eventual death, why this period of self-discovery improved his relationship with his children, and how he's seen the BP oil spill affect the residents of New Orleans.

How has filming the second season of 'Treme' been?

It's been going great. I'm in it a lot more {this season}. It's been more work, more fun and more music, which is the biggest difference between this and 'The Wire' for me. I get to play music and I get to write some stuff for it. There's a new song that came about because of it and I get to play some music on the street. The best thing about this gig is I get to spend a bunch of time in New Orleans.

Your new album, 'I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive,' features the song 'The Gulf of Mexico.' Was that written while you were shooting 'Treme'?

Oh yeah. Without 'Treme,' that song doesn't happen. That song is absolutely useless in 'Treme' because the second season of 'Treme' takes place 14 months after the storm. 'The Gulf of Mexico' -- we were at the end of the season, we were all feeling pretty good, and pretty good about ourselves. We were all patting ourselves on the back because the locals seemed to like the show and we liked the show, we liked what we had been working on.

Then at the very end of it, when we were filming episode eight or nine, the spill happens. You could watch folks that lived here that were really starting to feel good about themselves and about the city, and it put this big huge question mark about"What's going to happen to us now? What more can happen?"

People come here to eat shrimp and oysters. As it turns out, they're still here -- the oysters are a lot smaller and they cost twice as much money. The shrimp have been affected a lot less but they're still more expensive. I eat the oysters and shrimp in solidarity, and some of the s--- I've done to my body, I'm not sweating the oil all that much. But it's like, I'm not sure it's safe. I can't promise people and I'm not sure I want my kid eating it.

Steve Earle Performs 'This City'

Did the songwriting come from a place of solidarity or anger or both?

Both. People around here want the drilling again to start immediately, and it's sort of telling the story of people that are dependent in it. I believe that they're being had, that they're being lied to, but I do understand. It's about the hope that those people might get jobs, and they just don't want that hope taken out of their lives.

We're going to have to use less {oil} or things are going to go badly. But you are dealing here with people that make a living from it and I try to be sympathetic to that. I do understand why they believe what they believe. I don't think they're bad people. The people that are in BP are bad people. I truly believe that. But I don't think the people that work on the oil rigs are. I think they're just trying to feed their families.

You've said in other interviews that this album and your novel were inspired by mortality. Why did you write about that now?

My father died three years ago, just as I was in what I thought was the final march in the novel. These songs were written over three years, which is the longest I've ever taken to write a record. The record and the last half of the novel were written through the same three years, so there was no way for them to not be about the same thing.

Were any of the songs specifically sparked while you were writing the novel.

Yeah, the first three for sure because I was actively working on my novel. It's not like they're characters in a book that are speaking through the songs of this; it's not a concept record. When my dad died, the thing about the experience that was hard was everybody else dealing with it, my brothers and my sisters and my mom. My reaction was a little different to other people in my family and I felt a little guilty about it because I was very sad, but he also was really sick and had been for a long time. I was relieved not just in the sense of the lack of stress, but I really felt like he wasn't having any f---in' fun.

I've been thinking about mortality in that sense. During that same period of time, a friend of a friend, died in Woodstock. I watched those people deal with the death of somebody that they all loved and him deal with it. He seemed to have an easier time with it. He got sick, and then he got better, then he got sick again. He seemed to go not kicking and screaming and terrified. I'm sure he was scared but it wasn't like what my father and what my family went through. It was a totally different experience.

The book was being written during that time and these songs were being written and what came about was the idea that that death was the one thing ... People say death and taxes, well, that's bulls---. You can choose not to pay taxes. I've done it -- paid a bunch of penalties in interest, there was a consequence. But it is a choice. The one thing that you can't get out of doing is dying, and we're all going to have to deal with it. And maybe it's not a bad idea to try to figure out how to come to terms with it before you get there, if you have the opportunity.

Do you think you've come to terms with it?

No, but I think I'm in the process. Every day that I deal with it that way will make the day that I actually have to go there easier than it would've been if I just tried to think of myself as immortal and put it off. It's a big, scary thing for anybody.

My friends are starting this -- the four of us that dropped out of high school that I hung out with when I was growing up. There are two of us left out of four and the other survivor's got cancer. He's had it for several years -- he's got Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is pretty survivable -- but he's still around. But the other two are gone, one to cancer, one just laid down during a football game and didn't wake up, had a heart attack asleep on a Sunday afternoon. They were guys my age, mid 50s.

I arguably was harder on myself than any of them were, but I also take better care of myself now than any of them did. I don't smoke anymore, I don't take any drugs anymore and I exercise everyday. Because I married someone that's 17 years younger than I am and started having kids, maybe you ought to prioritize taking care of yourself.

Steve Earle Performs 'Colorado Girl' in 2009

Having had a baby, John Henry, in 2010 must play into it.

I have a hard time getting out of my head the fact that I'm not going to be around ... I'll feel good if I can get him to college and get to see that. I think this kid's going to graduate from high school -- for one thing, I think his mother will kill him if he doesn't {laughs}.

Did this also make you closer with your older sons,Justinand Ian?

Sure. I'm very happy that both of the older boys call me on a regular basis. You know, our relationships aren't perfect. They know that the way I'm being a father now is a little different than when they were younger. We have that to go through too, and we will.

New Orleans is also a city that's sort of come back from the dead.

I think New Orleans as we know it would have disappeared if the economy of the world hadn't collapsed, because I think there were people that fully planned to turn this into Disneyland. The money went away to do that. There are things that are never gonna be the same again. There's 100,000 less people than there were before the storm. It is coming back, it is resilient. There's a part of it that always been apart from the rest of the country and I think that makes it more resilient than some places.

The 'I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive' is due out April 26 via New West and the book will be released May 12 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Season one of 'Treme' isavailable on DVD nowand new episodes air on HBO Sunday nights at 10PM ET.

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Arcade Fire to Host Live Audio Webcast From Chicago - Spinner

FilmMagic

On the heels ofArcade Firemembers Will Butler and Marika Anthony-Shaw singing 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' at Saturday's (April 23) Chicago Cubs game, the band will perform at the UIC Pavilion -- a 10,000 capacity venue -- in Chicago on Sunday (April 24). For fans who aren't anywhere near the city and weren't lucky enough to score tickets, WXRT in Chicago is hosting a live audio webcast of the show.

The event will showcase tracks off the Grammy-winning band's third album, 'The Suburbs,' as well as songs from their back catalog. Loyal supporters can tune into the live audio webcast at 10PM EST/9PM CST/7 PST. As fans listen in on Arcade Fire's performance, they'll also view images shot live and posted during the event.

To listen to the live audio webcast, visit the WXRT websitehere.

Arcade Fire started off the year on a positive note, scoring Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards for their latest effort, 'The Suburbs.' At the 2011 BRIT Awards, the album also nabbed a Best International Album nod and the indie rockers won the Award for Best International Group.

Watch Arcade Fire's 'Ready to Start'

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Beastie Boys Rely on Boombox During Livestream at Madison Square Garden - Spinner

Phil Andelman/EMI Music

Leave it to theBeastie Boysto pull out all the stops while on the promo run for their highly anticipated album 'Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2,' set for release on May 3 via Capitol Records. The rap trio set up shop in Madison Square Garden on Saturday (April 23) to hold a Livestream, but as fans click on the link to take a look at what the New Yorkers have to offer, it's apparent something is amiss.

The 'Make Some Noise' creators decided to skip out on showcasing themselves but rather let a boombox do the talking -- in this case, rapping -- for them. In the middle of Madison Square Garden's basketball court, the New York Knicks logo decorating the floor, stands a single boombox with two microphones at its front. Besides a mysterious person dressed in a gorilla suit and the occasional maintenance employee passing by the camera, the arena is empty but the sounds of some of the Beastie Boys' recognized tunes --'Too Many Rappers' featuring Nas, 'Don't Play No Game that I Can't Win' -- fill the air.

Check out what the Beastie Boys have in store on the Livestream below.

Watch the Beastie Boys' Livestream


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Morrissey Finishes Lengthy Memoir, Looks to Penguin Classics to Publish - Spinner

Christie Goodwin, Redferns

Morrisseyhas finally completed his 600-plus-page memoir and is looking toPenguin Booksto publish the work through their 'Classics' series though the book franchise typically deals in established literary classics.

In response to Moz's announcement -- which he shared withBBC Radio 4's Front Rowduring a recent interview -- a spokeswoman for the esteemed publishing house told theIndependent:"There is a natural fit between Morrissey's sensibility, his artistic achievements and Penguin Classics. {His} book could be published as a Penguin Classic because it is a classic in the making."

Before the courting process even began, the singer told Front Row that he wasn't sure anyone would want to read his autobiography."I'm really not that interesting, so I don't know why I've written so much,"said the formerSmithslead man.

"I have been through the whole life. I just wonder if 660 pages are too much for people to bear. And then I sit down and think, well, are six pages too much for people to bear? I really don't know. {It's} baffling."

He also spoke of how he was in the"re-drafting, trimming stage,"of writing his autobiography and that he hoped to have it published in 2012. It can be assumed that the singer will dish on everything fromRadiohead'sJohnny Marr(formerly of the Smiths) to UK Prime Minister David Cameron. But we really just want to know why he's so sad.

Watch the Smiths' Video for 'The Boy With the Thorn in His Side'

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Elton John Fights Nerves at Tribeca Film Festival Premiere of 'The Union' - Spinner

Kevin Mazur, WireImage

After decades of playing to packed arenas all over the world, you would think thatElton Johnwould have gotten over pre-show nerves by now. But when 'The Union,' theCameron Crowe-directed film documenting the making of John andLeon Russell's album, premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival Opening Night in New York City on Wednesday, the legendary artist admitted to feeling the butterflies.

"It's a huge honor for us,"John told Spinner."I haven't seen it so it's going to be nerve-wracking, but it's the biggest honor you could possible get."

With over 30 albums, recorded collaborations and soundtracks, it makes you wonder how he still has that music-making spark in him. Instead of the past, John admits to looking at current musicians for inspiration."I love to be creative,"he revealed."I love writing new things. If you ever lose that spark, I listen to a lot of new music. I get inspired by new people and they give me the energy to keep going."

While Russell and Crowe weren't able to make it to last night's screening, producerT Bone Burnettand John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin were both on hand to share the moment. The audience was also treated to the famed PS 22 Choir teaming up with theBangles'Susanna Hoffsand Vicki Peterson of in an energized pre-movie performance of 'Walk Like an Egyptian.'

The highlight of the evening, however, was John's performance after the film. With a set that began with 'Tiny Dancer' -- quite fitting, considering it was featured in Crowe's 'Almost Famous' -- he had to avoid the high notes, a problem he blamed on the dropping temperature."I'm just about defrosting, so excuse me if I play or sing a few wrong notes,"he said before singing 'Rocket Man.'

John's six-song set also included 'I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues' as well as 'Gone to Shiloh' and 'Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)' from 'The Union.' He ended his performance with 'Your Song' and dedicated it to the city he loves so much.

"Thank you, New York,"he told the crowd."You know how much I love this place -- even though I'm frozen here like a lollipop. This is my song for you, with love."

Elton John Performs 'Gone to Shiloh' at the Tribeca Film Festival

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Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull Relives His 'Tough' Marriage on 'Simple Math' - Spinner

Columbia

Most musicians aren't the algebraic type, even when it comes to the simplest of equations. And when one of the major variables in the math problem happens to be love, the computation enters the field of quantum mechanics. ButManchester Orchestra's frontmanAndy Hullis a tried and true scholar in the pursuit of dynamic relationship rebuilding.

The band's newest album 'Simple Math,' out May 10 via Favorite Gentlemen/Columbia Records, examines the turbulent times of Hull's marriage and the right equation to get back to the love he and his wife started with. Spinner recently spoke to Hull about the meaning of his new record and the band's powerful new video for the title track.

You guys are fromAtlanta. What is it about Atlanta that breeds amazing music?

I feel like there's this weird kind of like inbred {laughs} ... I guess it's this inbreed between grunge and country, this bizarre mix of all these different bands. I guess there's still a root within all of us that's still got this weird vibe that you're talking about. I think the blues has a lot to do with it.

You moved from Atlanta to Canada, right?

Yeah, I lived in Atlanta for the first seven years, and then my dad is a pastor and my grandfather is a pastor. We {and} my dad moved to Toronto to pastor a church and he did that for seven years. He moved back to Atlanta then after that. I'm originally from the South, I just spent a seven-year tenure up north.

Were you influenced at all by the move?

Absolutely. To grow up in Toronto, it's an amazing city, from 7 to 14. Yeah, definitely. It was my childhood.

What was the hardest part about that transition?

I don't think it was that hard because it was home. Canada was always not home. We were going back home. The hardest transition in going to Canada was the fact that I was 7 years old.

When did you know you were going to make music for a living? Did any band or show you saw inspire you?

I figured it out at about 15 or 16. When did I realize I was going to make a living? Jesus, I hoped I was going to make a living at 15. I assume I started making a living a few years ago {laughs}.

Pedro the Lionwas a really big thing for me,Built to Spill. Those bands all of a sudden {took} me to this other place where early '80s-emo-punk probably couldn't go. That was probably around when I was 15.

As far as like a show, I remember seeing the Blood Brothers play at the Masquerade and it scaring me to my core. I'd never heard of them. I just went with a friend, and then shortly after that I realized that I want that power. I wanted that power just to shock people with sound.

What is the concept behind the video for 'Simple Math'?

I didn't really know what it is. Even when we were filming it I would keep asking,"What are we doing this for?"They'd be like"OK, well, we're going to be putting a giant steering wheel that will whip around and blows out of you at this point."It was kind of incredible filming it having no idea what these dudes were doing with just having full trust in them.

Watch Manchester Orchestra's Video for 'Simple Math'

Who directed the video?

They're called Daniels. Have you seen thatdog boarding video? It's awesome. It went viral over the weekend. But yeah, they're just this brand-new directing team. It just so happened that one of them was a huge fan of even my side stuff, so it really was kind of a perfect storm for us to work together.

I met with them in New York a few months ago. We were getting close to choosing, and I just felt this energy off of them that was so young and ready to just conquer. We really try to work with anybody who's like that.

They looked at that song and they're like"a lot of times we have to find the arc and we have to find the story climax, and the hook isn't always there, and like, you know, 'Simple Math'? You've given us four climaxes over the song. We can really make something cinematic about this."

What's up with the deer head in the video?

Our first song on the record is called 'Deer' on 'Simple Math,' and I kind of encouraged Daniels to incorporate as much stuff from the album as they could into it, so there's little things all across the video that refer to the full-length. I think the deer head is terrifying, that's why I like it. They really wrote that treatment as like those movies like 'Being John Malkovich' whereJohn Malkovichis John Malkovich but he's not. It was like they wrote what they would think would be my childhood. And in reality, it's even a joke between me and my dad -– we never went hunting, ever {laughs}.

Both of the guys in the directing team are named Daniel, that's why they're called Daniels, and one of them grew up in Alabama where we shot it. We shot it in his parents' huge house in Guntersville in the middle of nowhere. It's actually called"Meth Mountain,"the area that we were in. They had this treatment of what me as this little boy would be like in this story. At the beginning, I feel like you get this vibe that the dad's kind of an a------, and by the end you realize I'm the a------. My dad's been there the whole time. I was just too young to see it.

It looks like you got banged up a bit, like the scene where you roll down the road. How did you guys film that?

I f---in' rolled, man! {Laughs} That's how I did it. Yeah man, I {had} to be likeJackie Chan, try this s--- out myself.

Really, the worst was all the takes of me throwing myself around the cab of that truck. They were like"one more, man!"

How autobiographical is your work?

That's a heavy question. With this album in particular, I've never written as autobiographically as I have. The other albums I was writing about kind of larger and less specific concepts, where this album I'm writing about much larger concepts but in great specific detail. This is a record that is about my wife and I almost ending right after we got married. It was two years of us getting back and becoming what we are, which is happy and {in} a healthy relationship. It was something that was tough, man.

My wife would never tell me to not write a song because that's how I process everything. But I definitely had to ask her,"Are you ok with me sharing this story?"It's nothing angry with her. There's nothing mean. It's really just a lot of analyzation. There's some lyrics in there like"god damn I'm tired of lying/I wish I loved you like I used to."I feel like that's kind of tough to write and then release.

We'd be like,"I'm proud of our story. I'm proud that we got through this."It was really cool. So yeah, I'd say it was extremely autobiographical.

Do you try to emulate legendary frontmen? Do you do the"rooster"likeMick Jagger?

Hell Yeah. But that's not what I do because I'm big, you know. I'm a muscular type dude, so I'd end up prancing around. We try to do it with music -– you're into like Rock 101. The guys that we're going on tour with,Cage the Elephant, that's kind of their thing. They're crazy.

Yeah, those guys are crazy!

They're f---ing crazy dude. I feel personally, when I get older, like I earn more and more right to move less onstage. That's something I'm actually looking forward to, being likeJeff Tweedyand taking four steps in three hours.

And Matt {Shultz of Cage the Elephant} is like"no dude, I don't think I could even play a show if I wasn't jumping in the crowd. I just couldn't do it."So, different breeds.

Watch Manchester Orchestra Perform 'I Can Barely Breathe' on the Interface

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