Custard is proud to present Ex-Sensitive, the sophomore release from singer-songwriter Ben Jelen, hitting streets TOMORROW, July 17! If you are in the New York area, drop by the Virgin Megastore in Union Square at 6:30pm on Tuesday, July 17 to meet Ben and congratulate him on his latest, greatest effort! More info on Ex-Sensitive (the inaugural release for 2007 on Linda Perry’s label) and Ben’s upcoming tour with Pete Yorn is below including an acoustic video stream and MP3 for “Vulnerable”.
Here’s the release, by the way:
BEN JELEN LANDS OPENING SLOT ON PETE YORN TOUR CELEBRATES NEW CD WITH RELEASE PARTY AT THE BOWERY BALLROOM IN NYC ON 7/16
Jelen’s New CD Ex-Sensitive in Stores July 17th on Custard
Los Angeles, CA — Ben Jelen will kick off his new CD and tour with a record release party headlining the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on July 16th and in-store performance to follow on July 17th at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. Jelen will then set out on tour with Pete Yorn on his East Coast tour starting in St. Louis on July 21st. See all confirmed tour dates below.
Ben Jelen’s sophomore CD ex-sensitive will be available in stores on July 17th through Linda Perry’s Custard label. Jelen is the first artist release for 2007 from Custard, home to multi-platinum selling “You’re Beautiful” singer James Blunt. Jelen recorded the tracks for the album with producer/label head Linda Perry whom also mixed the majority of the songs in addition to two mixes from famed producer Bill Bottrell (Shelby Lynne, Tom Petty, Rosanne Cash, Elton John).
Jelen, whose first album was released in 2004 (Give It All Away, Maverick Records), sought Perry’s éclat as an artistic luminary to produce his second album. When first meeting with Ben at her studio, Linda found him as that ever-rarer gem in today’s music landscape: a unique artist who is best served when serving only to his art. “Lyrically and melodically, Ben’s perspective is creative, visual and beautifully stated,” says Perry. Production soon began to capture Ben’s vision with an organic, classic approach. Upon recognizing their achievement during the production, Perry made the decision to release the CD through her own Custard label.
Jelen’s latest CD speaks of his growth as an artist, songwriter and human being. “I feel like I have lived a bit more, I know who I am right now and I feel we captured that on the album,” he says. Jelen has long dedicated a significant portion of his time to working with organizations and charities (United Nations, Natural Resources Defense Council, Live For Darfur, Amnesty International, Rock The Vote, among others) that he feels are affecting change in a positive and meaningful way, a common theme throughout ex-sensitive. Jelen’s career has given him the opportunity to work closely with such organizations and as a result, Jelen has developed a strong ethos for using his voice not only to express himself, but also to speak out on behalf of others.
Coming from her own perspective as an artist, it was a natural progression for Perry to develop Custard as an artist driven label, thus enabling Perry to lend a direct hand in nurturing Jelen’s album from the very inception and on through every stage of the creative, production and release process.
Ben recently played the Troo Music stage at Bonnaroo and is looking forward to opening for Pete Yorn with additional dates to be announced.
Tour Dates:
*Denotes shows opening for Pete Yorn
7/16 Bowery Ballroom (Album Release party) New York, NY
7/17
7/21
7/22
7/24
7/25
7/27
7/28
7/29
8/1
8/2
8/7
8/14
8/16
8/17
8/18
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WatchMojo NewsletterA&M/OCTONE ARTIST MAROON 5 ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR 2007 “IT WON’T BE SOON BEFORE LONG” WORLD TOUR
Pop’s Biggest Band Goes Green On Their Global Arena Tour Hitting 28 Cities in North America; The Hives to Open
Los Angeles (July 9, 2007) – In the wake of their first #1 debut album It Won’t Be Soon Before Long (A&M/Octone) and first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Makes Me Wonder,” Grammy-winning pop quintet Maroon 5 has announced plans for their 2007 “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” world tour, hitting 28 North American cities, with special guest The Hives, beginning September 29th in Detroit and concluding November 10th in Las Vegas (full schedule below). Tickets go on sale beginning Saturday, July 14th and are available through Live Nation (www.LiveNation.com) or Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com).
The tour is in support of their recently released sophomore album, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, the second highest selling debut of the year according to Soundscan. The “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” tour will be presented by longtime partner Verizon and produced by Live Nation, who has partnered with the band to be their exclusive tour producer for future North American concert dates surrounding this album’s campaign. The band is also partnering with climate change organization Global Cool in order to make the massive production “carbon neutral.”
“We can’t wait to get out on the road and perform in arenas. This tour will have something for everyone, new and old fans alike, with our new music mixed with some of our earlier hits,” said frontman Adam Levine. “We’re also proud to be working with Global Cool to make the tour environmentally friendly. Our world is in a serious predicament right now, and we all need to play a role in reversing the catastrophic affects of global warming.”
Global Cool will work closely with Maroon 5’s production team, management and the boys themselves to reduce the carbon emissions produced by the world tour before offsetting the remaining emissions that cannot be reduced. For its part, Maroon 5 will donate $1.00 for each ticket purchased in North America to buy offsets that go towards making the tour “carbon neutral”.
Excitement for the tour announcement was generated by an online campaign devised by Live Nation in which fans submitted photos of themselves to be included on a limited edition tour poster. To date www.itwontbesoonbeforelong.com has received more than 2 million hits, an impressive number for a site that was launched a little over a week ago.
It Won’t Be Soon Before Long is the follow-up to the band’s hugely successful debut Songs About Jane which sold 10 million albums world-wide. The new album has been breaking records since before its May 22nd release. It sold more pre-sale copies on iTunes than any other album in iTunes history. The single, video and album consecutively hit #1 on iTunes sales charts. The first single, “Makes Me Wonder” made the highest leap ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart when it jumped from #64 to #1. The band will soon release the second single from the album, “Wake Up Call.”
Maroon 5 is Adam Levine (vocals, guitar), James Valentine (guitar), Jesse Carmichael (keyboard), Mickey Madden (bass) and Matt Flynn (drums). Their debut album Songs about Jane earned the 2005 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, has been certified quadruple platinum in the U.S. and has reached gold or platinum status in over 35 countries. The album has sold over ten million units worldwide. In 2006 the group earned another Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for a live recording of their international hit single “This Love.” Their second studio album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, was released on May 22nd on A&M/Octone Records. Known for their commitment to the environment, Maroon 5 was honored at the 2006 Environmental Media Awards. For more information on Maroon 5, please visit www.maroon5.com.
To purchase tickets, on sale Monday, CLICK here.
NEW YORK, July 16 /PRNewswire/ — New York City, 1977 - It was a time when the city had fallen into decay, with too few jobs, money, police, schools, and social services. There was a city wide blackout with major looting, a serial killer on the loose, and the Bronx was burning. And yet out of the chaos emerged one of the most creative times any city has ever encountered.
Executive Produced by Academy Award Nominee Nanette Burstein (”The Kid Stays in the Picture”), “NY77: The Coolest Year In Hell” is a two-hour documentary that tells the story of one astonishing year in New York City history. Premiering Saturday, August 11 at 9PM*, the documentary is told chronologically and weaves together the stories of the emergence of hip hop, punk and disco, graffiti art, and sexual liberation. In the background are the major political events and social issues of the day — crime, urban decay, financial woes, the infamous blackout, drugs, Son of Sam, the bitter mayoral election and the overall poverty that gripped the city.
Out of chaos came creation. From the South Bronx came hip hop. From the Lower East Side, the thrashing guitars of punk. And all over the city, a disco revolution was underway. Elaborate, finely crafted graffiti art decorated the subway cars and break-dancers shimmied in the streets. The sexual revolution was in full swing. In January 1977, most of this activity existed in its own underground bubble. Yet by the end of the year this artistic expression was on its way to mainstream America, and would be with us for generations to come.
The documentary uses groundbreaking animation to help tell the story, and features interviews with those who lived it, including Ed Koch, Geraldo Rivera, Jimmy Breslin, Gloria Gaynor, Afrika Bambaataa, Chris Stein (Blondie), Richard Hell, KRS-One, Grandmaster Caz, DJ Disco Wiz, Legs McNeil, Annie Sprinkle, Al Goldstein, Tommy Ramone, Jellybean Benitez, Lee Quinones, and many more.
“NY77: The Coolest Year In Hell” is the newest film in the VH1 Rock Doc franchise. VH1 Rock Docs are high-end feature-length documentaries that each reveal an untold story in the history of rock and hip-hop music, combining never-before-seen footage with a unique and unconventional narrative approach. The documentaries tell some of the most unique stories of artists and music from a wide range of genres, styles, and musical perspectives.
For additional show content including exclusive online scenes not included in the broadcast version, log onto VSPOT at VH1.com.
“NY77: The Coolest Year In Hell” is executive produced by Nanette Burstein for Firehouse Films with Jeremy Amar serving as co-executive producer, Henry Corra as director and Wyeth Hansen as art director. Brad Abramson, Shelly Tatro and Michael Hirschorn are executive producers for VH1. Warren Cohen serves as supervising producer for VH1.
VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and VSPOT, VH1’s broadband channel. Connect with VH1 at http://www.VH1.com.
VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.
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