On June 23, 2008 Apple Corps Ltd./Cirque du Soleil will release the feature-length documentary 'All Together Now' on DVD, which will be marketed and distributed worldwide by EMI Music.

The film details the story behind the unique partnership between The Beatles and Cirque du Soleil that resulted in the creation and launch of "LOVE," the stage production still wowing audiences at The Mirage in Las Vegas, and the double Grammy-winning album of the same name. The film is dedicated to the memory of Neil Aspinall, an Executive Producer of the DVD.

The DVD's total running time is 122 minutes, including the 84-minute documentary film and bonus features. The film and extras are presented in DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and Dolby Digital Stereo.

'All Together Now' faithfully recounts how the "LOVE" project came into being, borne from the personal friendship between George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte. George saw how the twin talents of Cirque's artistry and The Beatles' music could be fused into something new and totally original.

The director, Adrian Wills, records early meetings between the Cirque & Apple Corps Ltd. creative teams, as well as contributions from Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison discussing how The Beatles' music can be used in a different way. We hear about the decision to utilize the combined talents of Sir George Martin and his son Giles Martin to produce what became a 90-minute soundscape created from The Beatles' multi-track recordings and how this new audio adventure was being quietly worked on in the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, England whilst the first creative ideas for the show were being formulated in Montreal, Canada.

These early stages of the project were all filmed, as were the first rehearsals at the Mirage Hotel theatre in Las Vegas, which was completely rebuilt with a one-of-a-kind sound system and complex round staging to house the "LOVE" show. George and Giles Martin, the show's Musical Directors, were involved every step of the way with the remarkable Cirque du Soleil creative team, performers and backroom staff.

It wasn't all "plain-sailing" and there has been no attempt to disguise some of the disagreements that took place along the way regarding how some of the songs would be portrayed visually. These creative differences, a necessary part of the overall process of bringing "LOVE" to its most vibrant life, illustrate the participants' love and respect for the music and vision of The Beatles.

In addition to their roles within the main feature, George and Giles Martin, along with engineer Paul Hicks, also pop up in another piece titled "Changing The Music" which reveals in fascinating depth how the music was created and the challenges they faced. They explain how they sourced some of the individual instruments and effects and how they were encouraged to experiment.

The 'All Together Now' documentary and bonus features provide a fascinating insight into the creative skills and passion that went into making this project a groundbreaking critical and commercial success.

DVD contents

'All Together Now' documentary (84:00)

Bonus Features:

Changing The Music (22:00): A behind-the scenes look at the decision-making process for the "LOVE" concept and music production.
Music In The Theatre (07:00): A look at the process of creating the "LOVE" show's unique audio design.
Making 'LOVE' (09:00): A backstage pass to explore the design of "LOVE," including the art direction, costumes, props, screen imagery and the use of The Beatles' voices in the "LOVE" stage production and its soundtrack.

DVD technical details
1 x DVD-9
PAL and NTSC
All regions

The Beatles - All Together Now on amazon.co.uk

All Together Now on amazon.com

Cirque du Soleil

The Beatles

In addition to a Royal Television Society award nomination, Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives, the acclaimed BBC documentary about Eels leader Mark Oliver Everett and his father, quantum physicist Hugh Everett III, has been nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award.

The BAFTAs awards ceremony will be held at the London Palladium, April 20th, 2008.

See the list of BAFTA nominations.

Eels hit the road for the second leg of their UK tour today, playing the following dates:

March 19 2008 - Belfast, Mandela Hall
March 21 2008 - York, Opera House
March 22 2008 - Sheffield, City Hall
March 23 2008 - Oxford, New Theatre
March 24 2008 - Cambridge, Corn Exchange

Eels Official Website

Breakout British group The Horrors (Stolen Transmission Records) and director Marvin Scott Jarrett (Nylon Magazine) will attend the 2008 Sundance Film Festival with the documentary film "Counting In Fives".

The documentary follows the group through the streets of London and the US, in the studio writing their second record, and throughout concerts in the UK and the US, ultimately exploring how these dynamic personalities came to form The Horrors. The inspirations, the dress, and the explosive live performances of the band are all showcased in the feature.

The Horrors have released a self-titled EP and full length 'Strange House' on Stolen Transmission, and have toured the US with label mates Schoolyard Heroes.

The band will be in Park City, Utah starting Friday, January 18th, 2008 at the Marquee Lounge, where they will kick off the Sundance Film Festival with a huge bash, sponsored by Hugo Boss. The Horrors will be hosting and DJ'ing with Peaches Geldoff guest DJ'ing as well.

Sarah Lewitinn, aka Ultragrrrl, will be a guest blogger for Nylon Magazine at Sundance film festival. She will be covering all The Horrors parties! So check it out, for up close and personal information on the band.

"It's weird, because when we do gigs we just set out to play our songs and not annoy or wind up anyone - but we often cause loads of trouble in the process", explains keyboardist Rhys 'Spider' Webb evenly. "Still, we're not interested in pleasing everybody. And we certainly don't have a problem with pissing people off in the process. We don't care what people think of us. If we upset people we're not bothered in the slightest."

Watch video: The Horrors documentary - "Counting In Fives" trailer:

The Horrors on Myspace
The Horrors Official Website

The Eels have announced more dates in the UK and Ireland on the back end of their European tour, which will come around to the UK again in mid-March 2008.

This announcement comes two weeks before the January 21st 2008 release of the Best of Eels rarities, 'Meet The Eels: Essential Eels Vol. 1, 1996-2006' and 'Eels Useless Trinkets: B-sides, Soundtracks, Rarities, and Unreleased 1996 – 2006' albums. The albums feature music recorded by the Eels over the course of their 10 year recording career, from their debut "Beautiful Freak" (released in 1996) to the more recent "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations", as well as some rare gems that have never seen the light of day.

The albums will follow the release of a book written by Eels creator and front man Mark Oliver Everett (or 'E' as he's more commonly referred to). The book, 'Things The Grandchildren Should Know', is out January 17th, 2008 and is a compelling, tragic, inspiring, original and very funny true story about a man who loses everyone he loves but somehow survives and learns to find joy in life again.

Pete Townsend describes 'Things The Grandchildren Should Know' as: "One of the best books ever written by a contemporary artist".

Also look out for the repeat of 'Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives', the fantastic documentary the BBC filmed about E on his journey of discovery across America to learn about the father he never knew, Hugh Everett III, the quantum mechanic.

'Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives' will be aired again on January 22nd, 2008 on BBC 4 at 8pm GMT.

Eels UK Live Dates:

1st leg - all dates SOLD OUT
February 25 2008 - London, Royal Festival Hall
February 26 2008 - Birmingham, Town Hall
February 27 2008 - Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
February 28 2008 - Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
March 1 2008 - Gateshead, Sage
March 2 2008 - Brighton, Dome

2nd leg - NEW DATES

Tour dates and information could change! Go to the Eels Official Website for the latest information.

March 17 2008 - Dublin, Vicar St
March 18 2008 - Dublin, Vicar St
March 19 2008 - Belfast, Mandela Hall
March 21 2008 - York, Opera House
March 22 2008 - Sheffield, City Hall
March 23 2008 - Oxford, New Theatre
March 24 2008 - Cambridge, Corn Exchange

Here are links to four of the 12 videos featured on the bonus DVD of 'MEET THE EELS: Essential EELS Vol. I, 1996-2006', out Jan 21 2008. "Hey Man" is especially good. It's got E's dog, Bobby Jr, in it!

8 Souljacker Part I

9 Saturday Morning

10 Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)

11 Trouble with Dreams

12 Dirty Girl (Live at Town Hall)

Eels Official Website

Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives follows the lead singer of US rock band Eels, Mark Oliver Everett (E), on his journey of discovery across America to learn about the father he never knew, Hugh Everett III, the quantum mechanic. The BBC Four one hour documentary will premiere on Monday, November 26, 2007 at 9:00pm (GMT).

This year is the 50th anniversary of Hugh Everett's most important contribution to science - a controversial theory of quantum mechanics that predicts the existence of Parallel Universes, one of the most fantastic scientific predictions ever to have been conceived.

Hugh wrote the theory as a young PhD student at Princeton University, but for 20 years it remained largely ignored by the scientific community. Faced with derision and rejection, Everett abandoned academia and forged a career in the American defence industry. It was only at the end of his life, that his visionary work began to be taken seriously.

Hugh died of a heart attack in his home in 1982 where his body was found by 19 year old son Mark. Even though they had lived in the same house, the two of them were alienated and Mark knew nothing about his father's work.

"My father never, ever said anything to me about his theories. I was in the same house with him for at least 18 years but he was a total stranger to me. He was in his own parallel universe. He was a physical presence, like the furniture, sitting there jotting down crazy notations at the dining room table night after night. I think he was deeply disappointed that he knew he was a genius but the rest of the world didn't know it." - Mark Everett.

In this intelligent and imaginative film, the wry and charismatic Mark takes a journey back into his father's life, meeting his old college pals, family friends and colleagues and takes a crash course in the weird world of quantum mechanics in order to understand his father's mind blowing theory.

Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives 1x60
Produced by Specialist Factual, BBC Scotland
Filmed, Produced and Directed by Louise Lockwood
26 November 2007

In other Eels news:

Eels are set to celebrate their 10-year anniversary with the release of their first 'best of' and 'rarities' collections, 'Meet The EELS: Essential EELS Vol. 1, 1996-2006 (CD+DVD)', and 'Eels Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2006 (2CD+DVD)' out on 21 January 2008.

Read more about Eels Best Of and Useless Trinkets rarities.

Eels Official Website

Cevin Soling is the leader of The Love Kills Theory, but is also revered on the South Pacific island of Tanna as the living embodiment of a deity named "John Frum."

Soling became a living God last February when filming a documentary about cargo cults, and took a trip to Tanna, where the residents have been waiting for the arrival of an American named "John Frum" for more than 65 years.

The Tanna-ites believe Frum will bring lots of cargo, so Soling got corporate sponsors to donate fishing equipment, knives and flashlights to give to the Tanna islanders.

It worked better than he expected. The chief of Tanna gave Soling a large plot of land, and allowed him to participate in tribal rituals, including one where his naked body was painted red, white and blue.

Soling just got back from a second visit to Tanna, and is realizing that with great power comes great responsibility because now his adopted tribe is expecting him to get the U.S. to invest in the island.

http://www.thelovekillstheory.com

Tangled Up in Bob is Rubinstein's score for the documentary film by Mary Feidt and detailing Natalie Goldberg's quest for the "real" Bob Dylan in his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. Rubinstein composed and performs the 15 tracks here, and cowrote "She Was Weird" with songwriter Terry Allen.

The Albuquerque Tribune wrote, "Donald Rubinstein provides an original score that is hauntingly Dylanesque." Cadence wrote, "He's a poet in a Dylanesque vein. His singing voice reminds me of a tired, more world-weary Bruce Springsteen....In the singer/songwriter vein, I'd much rather hear Rubinstein than any of the other, more popular artists."

The second CD due out in April is Acceptance featuring jazz great Bill Frisell. With three compositions by Rubinstein and one live improvisation, Acceptance ranges from the choral "Acceptance" to the jazzy "Diminished Chord," which Frisell performs once with electric and once with acoustic guitar. The CD ends with the live improv "Four Pianos," with Marcel Bergmann, Philipe Bodin, Andrea Clearfield and Rubinstein on pianos, vocals by Clearfield and Rubinstein.

Bill Frisell says, "I'm so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Don in all kinds of situations over the years. I've learned a lot from him...These days it's reassuring to know there's someone like him around. After more than 20 years, he's still on that path, and still an inspiration."

Called "a composer and songwriter of stellar proportions" by The Doors' John Densmore, Rubinstein says the two new releases "represent both extremes of my composing, jazz-avant-garde instrumental at the one end and lyric-oriented folk songs at the other."

Thom Teresi at Rhombus Records says, "Tangled Up in Bob and Acceptance represent the two faces of Don Rubinstein. You have to like everything Don does. He's a prolific writer and a unique character. Rhombus Records wanted to release these together to show his diverse range of talent."

Rubinstein made his musical debut by scoring George A. Romero's cult classic film Martin (1977), which Mojo in 2002 named "One of the Top 100 Coolest Soundtracks of All Time." Since then he has released 16 CDs, which range from jazz to folk to pop-rock to country; scored several feature films and main titles for two television series; and been commissioned by dance companies and musicians from the Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic orchestras for individual works.

Steve Huey wrote in All Music Guide, "Singer/songwriter, pianist, jazz experimentalist, soundtrack composer, beat-style poet—Donald Rubinstein has somehow juggled all those hats over the lengthy span of his creative career."

Tangled Up in Bob and Acceptance are available for downloading at iTunes.com, eMusic.com, Rhapsody and the Burn Lounge. The CDs retail for $15.98 each and are available in stores on April 17, 2007.

Web sites:
http://www.donaldrubinstein.com
http://www.rhombus-records.com

For media inquiries, or to schedule an interview with Donald Rubinstein, contact Mantra Public Relations at 212-645-1600.

In Debt We Trust will be screened in:

- Rochester, NY April 2-5 at the Little Theater, 240 East Ave. at 7PM
- Manhattan April 4 & 5 at the QUAD on 34 W.13th St. at 7PM
- Los Angeles April 13 at the Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills at 7PM
- Bellingham, WA April 14 & 15 at the Pickford Theatre, 1416 Cornwall Ave.
- Boston April 19 at Northeastern University, Snell Library Rm 217 in the Media Center at noon

In Debt We Trust shows how debt is strangling the lives of tens of millions of Americans, and consolidating power into fewer and fewer hands by a credit and loan complex not unlike the military-industrial complex. This has been called the "financialization" of America – producing a kind of "modern serfdom" and widening the gap between the haves and have-nots. The 88 minute documentary is being distributed to theaters and communities as part of a new national campaign, Americans for Debt Relief Now, that aims to help Americans win freedom from the desperation of this overwhelming debt.

The music of Polarity/1 is exactly what the name suggests: conjoined opposites - a mash-up of new: cutting edge electronica/hip hop/nu-jazz and old: roots music of America (blues, funk, country, early jazz), Brazil (samba, pagode, etc.) and West African groove science. "Polar succeeds in his mission of forcing you to pay attention and not lull into the sounds you 'expect' to hear," noted StarPolish.com

Currently, Polarity/1 is best known for political songs which are a regular feature of Amy Goodman's globally syndicated Democracy Now, NPR and many other politics-oriented broadcasts, used in college courses on media and licensed for use in documentaries.

Polarity/1 (aka Polar Levine) is a member of the MusicDish Network, a complete artist development program, leveraging brand development, saturated and relationship marketing, digital distribution and industry outreach to support emerging artists' and bands' careers.

Polarity/1 can be found online at http://www.polarity1.com and http://www.myspace.com/polarity1music

For more information on 'In Debt We Trust', visit

http://www.indebtwetrust.org

Billy has most recently been playing guitar in Camp Freddy alongside bandmates Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction/The Panic Channel), Matt Sorum (Guns N Roses/Velvet Revolver), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver), Donovan Leitch (son of legendary folk singer Donovan), and Chris Chaney (Janes Addiction/Alanis Morrisette).

He's also singing with his new band Circus Diablo alongside Billy Duffy (The Cult), Ricky Warwick (The Almighty) and Brett Scallions (Fuel) with Matt Sorum playing drums on their upcoming album. They've been recording tracks and are making plans to hopefully go out on tour soon.

Another project that Billy Morrison has been working on is his A Life Less Ordinary documentary which was filmed in 2006. He worked with director Q Des Chambres on the film and the footage documents Billy's life - from homeless to Hollywood. He's been adding short video clips to YouTube and mentions in his blog that he's not sure at this point if the film will ever go into production.

I certainly hope that the "right" people see this. It would be great to see A Life Less Ordinary premier at Sundance or one of the other indie film festivals. The more people that can hear his story the better. There's more to being a musician than meets the eye - and Billy's story helps to bring some understanding to the often times chaotic and difficult lifestyle.

Billy will be adding the video clips and updates to his blog and to the Morrison TV YouTube page. I'll also be adding links to the sidebar in the Guest Music Bloggers section here at Band Weblogs. I think it's important for musicians to be aware of the dangers of drug use - especially when the message is coming from a musician who has been through the ups and downs.

Watch Billy Morrison's A Life Less Ordinary Intro

Morrison TV on YouTube
Billy Morrison's Blog

By: Jenny May