Proceeds from Charlotte Pop Fest benefit
The Richard Dawkins
Foundation for Reason & Science
New Charlotte Pop Fest "Popcast"
October 16, 2009
Episode #34 feat. Jill Sobule interview
Stream MP3 Download MP3
Charlotte Pop Fest Merchandise Available
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Note: Pre-orders began shipping the week of September 28, 2009.
Skepticality Recaps Charlotte Pop Fest '09
September 29, 2009
Derek
and Swoopy of Skepticality: The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine
recap Charlotte Pop Fest '09.
Summary:
On this week's Skepticality, Derek and Swoopy have just returned from
Charlotte Pop Fest, a unique music festival with proceeds benefiting the
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Unexpected local media
backlash against the Pop Fest benefiting a group of "evolutionists" is
further evidence why events like this one, the first of it's kind, are so
important.
These sentiments are echoed in this week's short interviews with
Pop Fest musician Jill Sobule, members of the Charlotte Atheists and
Agnostics and Keith Williams, a local Charlotte skeptic who wrote a letter
to WBTV Charlotte to express his concern over their reporting of the Pop
Fest as an example of "science and religion butting heads".
Here are links to listen/download the podcast:
http://www.skepticality.com
Skepticality on iTunes!
RSS Feed:
http://skepticality.libsyn.com/rss/
Sponsors/Partners
September 27, 2009
Charlotte Pop Fest '09 would not have been possible without the help of the following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2009
It is with great regret that I have to announce that Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Linus of Hollywood will not be performing at Charlotte Pop Fest this year.
A couple of weeks ago a sponsor, that had originally committed to supporting the event financially, abruptly decided they didn't want to be associated with the Richard Dawkins Foundation.
In the last 24 hours both Roger and I had to come to the mutual decision that time had simply run out and we needed to pull the plug and cut our losses.
From day one Roger has supported the event and continues to support me which blows my mind. He is truly a class act.
I want to thank Roger, Linus, Robby, and the rest of the band. Everyone go buy their music!
For anyone that purchased tickets to see Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and/or Linus of Hollywood please contact me at james@jamesdeem.com for a full refund.
Sincerely,
James Deem
LAST CHANCE: Free '09 CD with $25 Advance Ticket
September 22, 2009
Today (9/22) and tomorrow (9/23) will be the last chance to get a FREE copy of this year's Charlotte Pop Fest compilation CD and bonus CD with the purchase of a $25 advance ticket. Also, tickets will go up to $30 per day on Thursday, 9/24 and won't include this year's compilation.
If you can't make it to Charlotte Pop Fest this year and still want to support the event you can purchase the '09 compilation CD and bonus CD.
Power pop the focus of three-day music festival Pop Fest
By Jeff Hahne in this week's
Creative Loafing
Meet and Greet with The Smithereens and more
September 18, 2009
The
Smithereens will be doing a meet and greet in the lobby of Dana Auditorium
directly following their performance on Saturday, September 26th.
Cool King Chris and James Deem will be doing an interview with Divakar Shukla at
New Rock 106.5 The End on Sunday, September 20 at 7:00PM Eastern on
both the New Music & Indie Label Show and on 90 Minutes.
http://www.1065.com/pages/divakar.html
James Deem will be on the Gaston College Roundtable with Randy Walker which
airs on WSGE 91.7fm on Monday, September, 21 at 6:00PM Eastern.
http://www.wsge.org/program/publicaff.php
The featured artist on Inside the Blend, Tuesday, September, 22 at 1PM
Eastern will be The Spongetones. For those who might not know, 2009 is the
30th anniversary of the band and they'll be playing an interview with Steve
Stoeckel interspersed into an hour of music by the band.
http://www.wsge.org/program/publicaff.php
WSGE 91.7fm are also the stage hosts for Festival in the Park.
Also, look for an interview with James Deem by Jeff Hahne in next week's
Creative Loafing.
http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com
And finally, Courtney Devores will be previewing this year's Charlotte
Pop Fest with an article on Jill Sobule in the Charlotte Observer
that should run sometime soon.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com
Download the podcast of The Spongetones on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins from September 17.
Upcoming Interviews and Press
September 16, 2009
Charlotte Pop Fest '09 is about a week away (it seems kind of weird to type that) and there's a lot of upcoming interviews and press.
I
just did an interview yesterday with Derek and Swoopy for Skepticality
which is the official podcast of Skeptic magazine. Derek and Swoopy
will be podcasting "Live" from this year's Charlotte Pop Fest.
Here are links to listen/download the podcast:
http://www.skepticality.com
Skepticality on iTunes!
RSS Feed:
http://skepticality.libsyn.com/rss/
The Spongetones will be on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins which
airs on WFAE 90.7fm tomorrow morning (Thursday, September 17) at 9:00AM
Eastern and rebroadcast at 9:00PM.
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/18_92_0.cfm
Stay tuned...
James Deem
Special In-Store Appearances at Manifest Charlotte
September 15, 2009
Special in-store appearances at Manifest Charlotte.
Thurs. 9/24 beginning at 4:00 p.m.
The Posies, Mike Viola, and Bleu
Friday 9/25 beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Jill Sobule, Glen Burtnik, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Linus of Hollywood
Saturday 9/26 beginning at Noon
The Smithereens
Charlotte Pop Fest '09 Compilation CD/Bonus CD
September 11, 2009
The Charlotte Pop Fest
'09 compilation CD and bonus CD features 35
songs by all 35 different artists performing at this year's event.
All advance tickets to Charlotte Pop Fest include a FREE copy of the Charlotte Pop Fest '09 compilation CD and bonus CD. ($15 value)
This year's compilation CD and bonus CD will only be available to pre-order between now and September 23rd. Then it will be on sale at the event on September 24th, 25th, and 26th.
If for some reason you can't make it to this year's Charlotte Pop Fest this is a perfect way to support the event and this year's charity. All proceeds from the sale of the Charlotte Pop Fest '09 compilation CD and bonus CD will benefit the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science.
There are eight exclusive previously unavailable tracks by The Smithereens, Ed James, The Jellybricks, Cool King Chris & KingheadS, Crisis, Scott's Garage, Tony Low, and James Deem; three rare tracks by The Posies, Glen Burtnik, and Gladhands; and recently released tracks by The Spongetones, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Jill Sobule, Mike Viola, Bleu, The Shazam, Myracle Brah, The Singles, Dennis Schocket (Starbelly), Cliff Hillis, Linus of Hollywood, gogoPilot, The Stellas, Transmission Fields, The Vinyl Strangers, The Stars Explode, Chris McKay & The Critical Darlings, Mike Dees, Analog Daze, Josh Burch, Chris English, Chris Church, Parallax Project, and Popdudes.
You can pre-order the CD and bonus CD via Paypal for $15 plus shipping. (Shipping is $3 in the US and $5 internationally.) All pre-ordered CDs will ship the week of September 28, 2009.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2009
CHARLOTTE POP FEST – SEPTEMBER 24-26,
2009
Power Pop Music Festival in Charlotte, NC
Contact: James Deem
Phone: (704) 575-1077
Email: james@jamesdeem.com
Web: www.charlottepopfest.com
Myspace: myspace.com/charlottepopfest
Facebook: facebook.com/charlottepopfest
Twitter: twitter.com/charlottepop
The 2nd annual Charlotte Pop Fest is a 3-day music festival that will feature artists in the “power pop” genre. The event will take place on Thursday, September 24th; Friday, September 25th; and Saturday, September 26th in Dana Auditorium at Queens University of Charlotte and at Freedom Park as part of the 45th annual Festival in the Park.
Artists Performing:
The Smithereens, The Posies, The Spongetones
Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Jill Sobule, Glen Burtnik
Mike Viola, Bleu, The Shazam
Myracle Brah, Gladhands,
The Singles, The Jellybricks, Starbelly, Cliff Hillis, Linus of Hollywood, Ed James,
Cool King Chris & KingheadS, Crisis, The Stellas, gogoPilot, Transmission
Fields, The Vinyl Strangers, The Stars Explode, Chris McKay & The Critical
Darlings, Scott’s Garage, Mike Dees, Analog Daze, Tony Low, Josh Burch,
Chris English & The North Americans, Chris Church, Parallax Project, Popdudes, and James Deem
Advance tickets are on sale now at www.charlottepopfest.com and tickets range from FREE-$100.
This year Charlotte Pop Fest will celebrate the life of Charles Darwin and all proceeds from the event will benefit the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science. The year 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book The Origin of Species.
In a related event, Richard Dawkins will be speaking at Queens University of Charlotte on Wednesday, October 14th, at 7 p.m. He will be talking about his latest book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, and copies will be available for sale and signing by the author immediately after the talk.
Links:
www.richarddawkinsfoundation.org
www.festivalinthepark.org
www.queens.edu
Charlotte Pop Fest Popcast #32
September 2, 2009
The
next "Live" Charlotte Pop Fest Popcast will take place
TONIGHT Wednesday,
September 2, 2009 at 10:00 PM Eastern.
Call (724) 444-7444 and enter the Call ID 58693 to participate. To listen to the "Live" stream and to log into the chat room go to: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/58693
Stream Download #32 feat. Jill Sobule, The Posies, Cliff Hillis, and more
Previous episodes:
Stream Download #31 feat. Scott's Garage, The Smithereens, Roger Joseph Manning Jr.,
and more
Stream Download #30 feat. The Jellybricks, Glen Burtnik, and more
Stream Download #29 feat. Glen Burtnik, Bleu, Mike Viola, and more
Stream Download #28 feat. Linus of Hollywood and more
Stream Download #27 feat. The Shazam, The Singles, and more
Stream Download #26 feat. The Posies, Jellyfish, The Spongetones, and more
THE SMITHEREENS at Charlotte Pop Fest
August 27, 2009
I'm
thrilled to announce that THE SMITHEREENS will be headlining
Charlotte Pop Fest on Saturday, September 26, 2009.
Obviously, I was thrilled to have originally booked Pat DiNizio to perform at Charlotte Pop Fest and it just got even better now that the whole band will be coming to Charlotte and capping this year's Charlotte Pop Fest with a 2-hour set.
The 2nd annual Charlotte Pop Fest is a 3-day music festival that will feature well-established internationally known artists, in addition to local and regional indie artists, in the power pop genre. The event will take place September 24-26, 2009 in Dana Auditorium at Queens University of Charlotte and at Freedom Park as part of the 45th annual Festival in the Park.
Less that 50 3-Day Gold Circle Tickets remain. Gold circle tickets are the BEST seats available and are located right in front of the stage.
James Deem Interview on American Freethought
August 17, 2009
I did an interview with John C. Snider and David Driscoll
for both their podcast,
American Freethought, and also the Charlotte Pop Fest Popcast. We talk
about Charlotte Pop Fest, among other things, and in listening to it again
the interview gets pretty personal, but it really gets to the heart of what
I'm trying to do through Charlotte Pop Fest this year.
http://www.americanfreethought.com/wordpress/2009/08/14/podcast-62-freethought-and-power-pop/
Glen Burtnik and Bleu at Charlotte Pop Fest
August 12, 2009
Glen
Burtnik is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known
as a former member of Styx.
In the late 70s he appeared in the Broadway production of Beatlemania as Paul McCartney, alongside Marshall Crenshaw, who played John Lennon.
In the 80s he recorded two solo albums, Talking in Code (1986) and Heroes & Zeros (1987), on A&M Records and had a hit in 1987 with the song "Follow You".
In 1989 he staged his first Christmas show with all the proceeds going to local charities that fight hunger and poverty. Since 1992 Glen Burtnik's Xmas Xtravaganza has become an annual event.
In the 90s he joined the band Styx and wrote/co-wrote 5 of the 10 songs on their Edge of the Century album; he co-wrote the chart-topping hit "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" with Patty Smyth that she recorded with Don Henley; and he released the albums Slaves of New Brunswick (1991), Palookaville (1996) and Retrospectacle (1997) himself.
In 1999 he re-joined Styx and recorded and toured with the band in support of the albums Brave New World (1999) and Cyclorama (2003). He left Styx again in 2003 and recorded his critically acclaimed solo album Welcome to Hollywood (2004).
The last three years he has staged shows performing The Beatles albums Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (2007), The White Album (2008), and Abbey Road (2009) note-for-note and in their entirety.
In April of this year he accepted an offer to tour with the former members of E.L.O. currently known as The Orchestra.
Bleu
is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who graduated from the
Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
In 1999 he received local notoriety for his debut effort A Bing Bang Holidang which was a charity album for the Boston Institute for Arts Therapy. A single from that record, "Boston All Star 12 Dayz", received local airplay and featured Guster, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo.
In 2000 he followed with his Workaday Day EP before releasing his first proper album Headroom. The album took off when he entered the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble and won in 2001. He would later win a Boston Music Award for "Best Boston Band" and land a major label recording contract.
In 2002 his song "Somebody Else" was featured on the soundtrack to the hit movie Spider-Man and in 2003 he released his major label debut and critically acclaimed album Redhead featuring the singles "Get Up" and "I Won't Go Hollywood". He recorded a follow-up album, A Watched Pot, but was dropped by his label before it was released.
In 2006, he started a side project called L.E.O with Matt Mahaffey, Mike Viola, Andy Sturmer, Hanson, and Jason Scheff. L.E.O. is an Electric Light Orchestra-style music project and Alpacas Orgling is an entire album of original songs similar in style to 1970s AM radio pop music.
In 2007 he released two EPs, Happy Birthday and The Blizzard of '05.
In 2008, Bleu with Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle released Aquavia as a band called The Major Labels.
In July of this year he released the album he recorded four years ago A Watched Pot.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2009
The Knack's performance at Charlotte Pop Fest has been
cancelled due to Doug Fieger's health.
I received some clarification about Doug's condition from Sue Weber who works for Doug and The Knack:
"First and foremost, Doug is still very much among the living. It is true that Doug does have cancer and his cancer is serious, but in reality ALL cancer is serious. Second, Doug does NOT have brain cancer. Doug has lung cancer which has metastasized to his brain. Doug has been dealing with these metastasized tumors for a few years now. They are of course problematic and unfortunately they are recurring. Lastly his prognosis is serious, there is no doubt, but imminent death? No.
There's a quote from Elvis Costello that Doug likes: "Don't bury me 'cause I ain't dead yet!"
Hopefully, we can calm everyone's fears and stay focused on sending Doug our good thoughts, our prayers and healing white light. That is what Doug needs most and with everyone's help, one day soon he will be able to thank everyone in person for sending him the love that helped him through this very difficult time.
Peach and Love,
Sue Weber"
It is still my intention to continue to use Charlotte Pop Fest to celebrate Doug Fieger’s music and recognized the 30th anniversary of the #1 song of 1979 “My Sharona” and the #1 album Get The Knack.
In addition, all proceeds from Charlotte Pop Fest will go to the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science in Doug Fieger’s name.
Get well soon, Doug!
All the best,
James Deem
