Stuff We’re Awaiting: Old 97’s – Aimee Mann – Kermit Ruffins – Fun Fun Fun Fest

Whew! It’s been quite a summer for news, so let’s get to it. Here’s the latest.

Old 97’s The Grand Theatre Volume One, due out October 12

The band, who Rolling Stone says have “evolved…into master-class rock & roll songwriters,” recorded over two dozen brand new songs during the studio sessions and will be releasing a second volume in 2011.

The Old 97’s spent a week of pre-production, recording the new songs completely live at the nearly 100-year-old (and reportedly haunted) Dallas venue Sons of Hermann Hall. Frontman Rhett Miller stated in a release, “The Old 97’s have hit a great stride, found our second wind. I feel like we found the secret to capturing the live energy people rave about after they see us play.”

The Grand Theatre Volume One was predominantly written during Rhett Miller’s 2009 solo tour abroad. “The Grand Theatre centers around a suite of songs I wrote during a month-long tour of England, Ireland and Scandinavia. Opening for the great Steve Earle meant watching a master Texas songwriter at work and I soaked up these strange surroundings and turned them into songs.

The album features “Champaign, Illinois”, a re-imagining of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row” with lyrics approved by the man himself.

Track listing:

1. The Grand Theatre
2. Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
3. The Magician
4. You Were Born To Be In A Battle
5. The Dance Class
6. Let The Whiskey Take The Reins
7. Champaign, Illinois
8. A State Of Texas
9. You Smoke Too Much
10. Love Is What You Are
11. Please Hold On While The Train Is Moving
12. The Beauty Marks

Aimee Mann announces Fall 2010 tour dates

Aimee Mann has got some awesome staying power — you could say her voice really carries. (Yes, shame on us for the ridiculously stale pun.) Mann’s most recent release @#%&! Smilers was hailed by Mojo magazine as “a masterpiece,” while People Magazine pronounced “trends may come and go, but real artists, like this singer-songwriter remain.” We at ATF couldn’t agree more.

For this tour, Mann will feature several new songs from the upcoming musical debut she’s been writing; based upon her 2005 album The Forgotten Arm. Set in the 1970’s, The Forgotten Arm follows the story of John, a Vietnam vet and boxer struggling with addiction, and Caroline, a young woman trying to escape the dead end world she lives in, as they meet, fall in love and road trip across America. In a review of the original release, Magnet magazine proclaimed “Aimee Mann has emerged as one of the finest songwriters of her generation.” Elvis Costello is a fan, too — that’s quite a stamp of approval.

Aimee Mann tour dates:

9/13 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota Jazz Club
9/14 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota Jazz Club
9/15 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota Jazz Club
9/17 Schaumburg, IL Prairie Center For The Arts
9/18 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk
9/19 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk
9/21 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
9/22 Pittsburgh, PA Hazlett
9/24 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
9/25 Atlanta, GA The Variety Playhouse
9/26 Knoxville, TN The Bijou Theater
9/28 Nashville, TN The Belcourt
9/29 Tuscaloosa, AL The Bama Theatre
10/1 Los Angeles, CA Largo at The Coronet
10/7 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s
10/8 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s
10/9 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s
10/10 Napa, CA Uptown Theater

Kermit Ruffins to release Happy Talk – October 26, Basin Street Records.

NOLA icon Kermit Ruffins has been performing second line music since he was a kid, and his Rebirth Brass Band took off after their first show at Jazz Fest and he’s never looked back. But he’s always secretly treasured the music of bandleaders like Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and Count Basie — Happy Talk is the result. As the bandleader, lead vocalist and trumpeter on the new album, Kermit has taken the big band sound and given it his own “Kermit swing.”

The Barbecue Swingers, his traditional jazz quintet, has been serving up weekly performances at Vaughan’s Lounge for 17 years and Bullet’s Sports Bar since just after Hurricane Katrina, as well as his own BBQ after the show!

Weird Al Yankovic Headlines 5th Annual Fun Fun Fun Fest

First time ever, a THIRD DAY added! Three times the fun!

November 5 – 7, 2010 at Waterloo Park in Austin, TX. Weird Al Yankovic kicks off the festival on Friday, November 5th at 6:00 pm.

Once again, this triple-fun fest features everything from smaller indie acts to big-ticket festival headliners, all while keeping the ticket prices affordable and flexible.

Early Bird tickets are limited to 1,000 fans and on sale now at a 10% discount for 3 day passes. You can purchase tickets online at funfunfunfest.com.

“My cup funneth over” – Graham Williams, Fun Fun Fun Fest Founder

FUN FUN FUN FEST 2010 COMPLETE LINE-UP:

ORANGE STAGE:
Weird Al Yankovic
MGMT
Devo
Dirty Projectors
The Hold Steady
Man Man
Cap’n Jazz
Os Mutantes
Deerhunter
Wavves
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Polvo
Kaki King
Dum Dum Girls
Best Coast
Crocodiles
Magic Kids
Indian Jewelry
Appleseed Cast
Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos
Toro Y Moi
Junius
Woven Bones
Royal Forest
Mother Falcon

BLACK STAGE:
Bad Religion
GWAR
The Vandals
Dwarves
The Gories
Municipal Waste
Strike Anywhere
The Casualties
Valient Thorr
Jeff The Brotherhood
The Briggs
Power Trip
Eagle Claw
Mastodon
Suicidal Tendencies
High On Fire
Snapcase
Floor
The Bronx
Ringworm
Kylesa
OFF!
Peelander Z
Hatred Surge
Black Congress

BLUE STAGE:
RJD2
Slick Rick (performing “Great Adventures Of”)
Deakin (of Animal Collective)
Delorean
Big Freedia
Designer Drugs
Devin The Dude
Invincible
Butcher Bear and Charlie
League of Extraordinary Gz
DJ Nick Nack
A-trak
Yelle
Pharoahe Monch
Jean Grae
POS
Dam-Funk
Dominique Young Unique
Black Nasty
DJ Bird Peterson
Crew 54

YELLOW STAGE:
Cold Cave (doing a live visual projection show)
Monotonix
Mariachi El Bronx
Live Action Wrestling
Veggie Hot Dog Eating Contest
Punk Rock Story Time with Joe Sib (spoken word)
New Movement (live sketch comedy)
Air Sex Contest (presented by Alamo Draft House)
Live Stunt Show
Video Shows
Stand Up Comedy with: Matt Bearden, Altercation Punk Rock Comedy tour and many more tba