While Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen helped raise money for the Obama campaign, The Beastie Boys will embark in a swing-state tour to encourage people to vote.The trio's partying ways have taken a back seat for social issues, as they now preach 'you got to fight for your right to vote.' The Get Out and Vote 08 Tour will have a different line-up of guest performers for each concert. Along for the ride are Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, Crosby & Nash, Santogold and Tenacious D. Stops include St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, Nov. 1, and Milwaukee Sunday, Nov. 2. For more information, visit www.getoutandvote08.org .
Even Expose vocal powerhouse Gioia is chiming in on what a difference she believes having Sen. Obama in the Oval Office would make. The Let Me Be the One singer teams with Andy Fraser for the Obama-inspired anthem Change the World. Here, parts of the presidential candidate's speeches and the crowd's cheers are intertwined with Gioia's synthesized delivery. She pleads, 'We can bring about a change / Build a bridge to better days.' This dance track is available for free at www.myspace.com/gioiab.
IAMX's President is one of those gripping tracks I cannot get out of my head. With a dirge beat and hints of early Nine Inch Nails, its chorus is 'For all you lonely boys / I will be president / In all you sons of man / I can be accident.' The group's theatrical frontman, Chris Corner, is formerly of The Sneaker Pimps, the British trip-hop outfit behind the classics Spin Spin Sugar and 6 Underground. Corner has since relocated to Berlin and IAMX has put out two albums—The Alternative, and Kiss and Swallow—that are finally available stateside on Metropolis Records. The Alternative also features the outstanding Marc Almond-like stomper Nightlife and the goth-angst anthem Spit It Out. Not only is Corner not afraid to sport some eyeliner, but his music draws comparisons to left of center favorites Placebo, Dresden Dolls and The Scissor Sisters.
Those female rockers from San Antonio, Girl in a Coma, are currently on tour with Bitch. A stop is slated for Saturday, Nov. 1, at Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake. This summer, Girl in a Coma was aboard for select dates of The True Colors Tour, and this fall the trio hit the road with Canadian twins Tegan and Sara. Girl in a Coma's debut, Both Before I'm Gone, includes the songs Road to Home and Clumsy Sky, and is out now on Joan Jett's Blackheart Records.
On Monday, Nov. 3, Chicago golden boy Dylan Rice will be taking to the stage as part of an acoustic duo with Dave Mendez at Uncommon Ground, 1401 W. Devon. Sharing the bill with Rice is Levi Kreis, who is in the Windy City portraying Jerry Lee Lewis in the musical Million Dollar Quartet. Both of these out musicians appear on the LGBT compilation Revolutions: Music with a Twist—Kreis with I Should Go and Rice with The Lie, sounding similar to the iconic Morrissey. Rice's sophomore outing is in the works; he is hoping that it will be out in the next six months.
Los Angeles group The Rescues has listeners 'California dreaming' with thoughts of The Mamas and the Papas on the forthcoming debut, Crazy Ever After. Members Kyler England, Gabriel Mann and openly gay Adrianne knew each other for years before the three were united to perform together at a wedding last year; hence, The Rescues was born. With a timeless pop-rock approach and gorgeous three-part harmonies heard throughout Crazy Ever After, Fleetwood Mac's prime is drawn upon for Lost along the Way. The works of the Rescues appear in film and on TV, as a cover of All By Myself is used in Superhero Movie and Sweetspot is featured in the flick The Lucky Ones, whereas the lead single, Break Me Out, can be heard on Army Wives on Lifetime. Crazy Ever After is due out via Red Wind Records Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The soundtrack to the film Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom has a little bit of everything—including dance, blues, funk and sappy love songs. It opens with the Karmatronic remixes of two of this year's hottest hits with Michelle Williams' We Break the Dawn and Solange's Sandcastle Disco. Rufus Wainwright's yearning is summoned on Matt Alber's End of the World, which flows perfectly into Roy Young's bluesy Don't Call It Love. Synths inspired by Prince's Darling Nikki and a nod to Janet Jackson's When I Think of You can be heard on Cable TV by Fol Chen. Any given Prince protégé wishes she could dish out Spies as well as Sy Smith does. And drag vixen Pam Jones Wages rounds out the stellar set with 'Eat Sushi.'
Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will lend her voice to the Chicago Foundation for Women's 23rd Annual Luncheon. Known for starring in Carmen and Samson et Dalila, Graves has the title role in the Chicago premiere of Margaret Garner, a part developed specifically with her in mind. With a discussion on art as a tool for social change, the event benefiting Chicago Foundation for Women will take place at the Lakeside Pavilion in McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore, Friday, Oct. 31. Margaret Garner will be playing at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, starting Saturday, Nov. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 9. Visit www.cfw.org .
