HAYNES HAS HIS HANDS FULL (SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?)

There really is no such thing as downtime for guitarist Warren Haynes.

His main gigs are playing with the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule, and that would be enough for most musicians to handle. But he's added to his workload with the relaunch of his Evil Teen record label.

On Wednesday (March 28), which was a night off from the annual Allman Brothers Band residency at New York's Beacon Theatre, Haynes publicly celebrated Evil Teen's return with a star-studded show at Irving Plaza. The performers that night included Gregg Allman, Edwin McCain and Kevn Kinney.

Haynes and the aforementioned musicians are featured on The Benefit Concert: Volume 2. Recorded in 2000, the two-disc set is the first Evil Teen release under its new distribution deal with RED. The Benefit Concert: Volume 1, recorded in 1999 and originally issued as Wintertime Blues, will be released Tuesday (April 3), featuring performances by Gov't Mule, Susan Tedeschi, The Derek Trucks Band and others.

For more information, visit www.evilteen.com.

SO LONG, SIN-E; HELLO FILLMORE

As one Manhattan concert venue gets set to close, another is about to have a new name and look.

Sin-e, perhaps best known as the place where the late Jeff Buckley honed his chops, will present its final show Sunday (April 1) -- and no, this is not an April Fools' Day joke.

The club opened in 1989 on St. Marks Place; the current Sin-E, at 150 Attorney St., opened in 2001. Its final bill features Hymns, Bow Thayer & the Perfect Train Wreck and Amanda Kravat.

Doors open at 8 p.m. Sunday; the show starts at 9 p.m. Cover charge is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Visit www.sin-e.com for more information.

Meanwhile, Live Nation is sprucing up Irving Plaza, which will open as Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on April 11 with a show starring British upstart Lily Allen.

It's part of Live Nation's plan to establish a brand a la its House of Blues clubs across the country. Currently, there are Fillmore facilities in San Francisco and Denver. A Philadelphia Fillmore is scheduled to open in late April.

On April 11 at Irving Plaza, fans can expect to find repainted walls, refurbished chandeliers and better sightlines from the balcony area. Bathroom, sound and lighting upgrades are scheduled for the summer.

How these upgrades impact ticket prices remains to be seen.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Free and legal: When it has to do with music, that combo has been hard to come by in the digital age.

But there's good news for guitarists, especially for those who can't read music. Musicnotes Inc., an Internet-based sheet music store, and the Harry Fox Agency, which represents more than 30,000 U.S. music publishers, announced a licensing agreement Tuesday (March 27) authorizing a relaunched version of the guitar tablature site www.MXTabs.net, which will offer free, licensed legal tabs.

Users will be encouraged to participate in the site's community to help improve the song catalog, says Musicnotes, and that includes creating tab transcriptions for tunes not popular enough to be published in traditional songbooks.

Of course, the music publishers have to benefit financially in some way from this agreement, and they do. Participating publishers will get a percentage of all advertising income that's generated via views or downloads of tablature of their tunes on the site.

The new MXTabs.net site is expected to launch this summer.

McCARTNEY'S LIVING IN THE HEAR AND NOW

If you're starting a record label, signing a legend isn't such a bad idea.

Hear Music, a new label launched by the Starbucks coffee empire, announced last week that the first artist signed to its roster is none other than Paul McCartney.

"It's a new world now," McCartney said March 21 via satellite from London. "People are thinking of new ways to reach the people. For me, that's always been my aim."

The one-album deal allows McCartney to retain ownership of the master recording -- a big plus in the eyes of any musician. And McCartney's Hear Music CD, due in June, will be sold in Starbucks stores as well as music retailers.

The McCartney signing gives Hear Music instant recognition, but as for major success right off the bat -- well, that's not guaranteed. There's a reason why McCartney was a free agent to begin with: Sales of his recent Capitol studio CDs haven't been spectacular (i.e. a half-million or so in the United States).

Undoubtedly, Hear Music and McCartney are aware of those figures, and of slumping CD sales in general. But making Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company available in high-traffic Starbucks stores did wonders for that album, and as far as impulse-buy options go, a CD beats a scone any day of the week.

NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL

A record label deal and TV exposure are great scores, but for most musicians, usually those things don't come as a package deal.

The Time Life label, best known for hawking its multi-artist compilations via infomercials, has signed a deal with Joan Osborne to release her new album, Breakfast in Bed, next month and promote its availability via TV spots.

"As an artist, you must be on the lookout for different opportunities," Osborne told Billboard. "We've all seen the Time Life ads on late-night TV. This is a great way to reach people who don't necessarily seek out new records."

In her heart of hearts, Osborne probably wishes the music industry was more like it was in 1995, when a major-label imprint released her breakthrough album, Relish, which contained "One of Us," a Top 5 pop hit in America.

But as she told Billboard, "the old business models are falling away," and she's 100 percent correct. The major labels don't operate the way they did when Osborne hit the scene (or even a few years ago), and the same goes for radio stations and MTV. So thinking outside the box is necessary.

It wouldn't be unusual if some cynical musicians -- and maybe some fans -- wrongly dismiss Osborne's Time Life deal out of hand, thinking it cheapens her music or reputation. But don't be surprised if what she's doing becomes as commonplace as artists licensing their songs for commercials. That had its share of detractors in the beginning, too.

WILBURYS REISSUES HANDLED WITH CARE

Two long-overdue CD reissues will finally see the light of day on June 12.

That's when both Traveling Wilburys studio albums, which had been unavailable for more than a decade, will arrive in stores in four different configurations, Rhino Entertainment announced today (March 21).

Volume 1 and Volume 3 will be combined into one release for all four configurations. The standard package will contain bonus tracks, a bonus DVD of content and a 16-page book. The linen-bound deluxe edition set has the same CD and DVD material as the standard, as well as a bigger book, new liner notes and more.

For old-school fans, the vinyl edition comes with two vinyl albums, plus another vinyl 12-inch featuring bonus tracks, along with a collectible album-size book and more. Last but not least, there's the digital package, featuring downloadable editions of the two albums, plus bonus tracks, video content and an interactive booklet.

Bonus material has a magical way of making fans forgive the powers that be when certain albums have been kept out of print. And considering the Wilburys were none other than Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne, there ought to be plenty of interest in the extras.

SXSW '07: 3/16 -- BOOKER T. RECALLS AL JACKSON

Trying to pinpoint the soul of the Stax sound is easy when you ask the organist and namesake member of Booker T. and the MG's, the house band for the legendary soul label.

During his SXSW interview Friday with Chicago-based journalists Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis, Booker T. Jones said that a major component to the Stax sound was drummer Al Jackson.

The soft-spoken and humble Jones described Jackson as both single-minded and open-minded -- a determined drummer who refused to allow the beat to be defined.

More than once, Jones referred to a time when, as a teen, he played bass with an obscenity-shouting Jackson.

As Jones explained, that was just Jackson's way of insisting that their music have an attitude and push the limit.

Jones' music career hasn't been limited to just one group or role. Diversity, he said, is "the spice of my life." And he has no intention of resting on his laurels.

"I'm very excited about my musical future," he said.

SXSW '07: 3/15 -- CELEBRATING SOULSVILLE

Back in the day, Stax musicians and singers made sweaty, soulful music. So it was only appropriate for some folks outside Antone's early Thursday evening to have beads of perspiration on their foreheads as they waited to enter the club for the Stax 50 Revue.

Truth be told, the moisture really had more to do with the sun and warmth that blanketed Austin. But inside the venue, it remained hot, literally and figuratively, as Stax legends graced the stage for an event celebrating 50 years of the legendary record company.

Isaac Hayes shuffled slowly to the stage and said a few words before Booker T. and the MG's, the instrumental backbone to classic recordings by Sam and Dave, Otis Redding and others, did their thing. The greats always make it look easy, and that certainly was the case with these guys as they played a bunch of their own chart hits, including "Green Onions." They put on a clinic in dynamics and teamwork that ought to be bottled and distributed to every band, regardless of genre.

They clearly were in the moment and enjoyed what they doing, smiling and nodding with approval at each other when someone played a good run. At one point, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn looked over at guitarist Steve Cropper, who was in the middle of a solo, and mouthed an expletive that, given the context, was undoubtedly a term of endearment.

SXSW '07: 3/15 -- STEPHENS SHARES SOME BIG NEWS

He speaks softly and, when he's playing drums, holds some mean sticks.

But when Big Star's Jody Stephens is at SXSW, more often than not he's representing Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tenn., where he works as studio manager.

That's the case this year, yet he did have something big to say about his on-and-off band, which never achieved massive commercial success during its 1970s run but nevertheless helped set the standards for power pop.

The wiry Stephens politely paused Thursday from browsing in the trade room to say that Big Star is lining up shows for this summer and fall.

A festival gig in Norway already has been confirmed, he said, and the band also is targeting San Francisco and New York for concerts.

Regarding the possible New York show, he said, "Webster Hall might be a good place."

Should it happen, remember it was Stephens who provided the big tip.

SXSW '07: 3/15 -- EMMYLOU ENTHRALLS

With her silvery mane and honey-sweet voice, no one looks or sounds like Emmylou Harris.

And although she's had a long and diverse career, her association with former Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers guitarist Gram Parsons remains a subject that always seems to come up.

In her Thursday morning SXSW interview with director Jonathan Demme, Harris credited Parsons for putting her on "a wonderful track that's brought me more than I could imagine."

She recalled being a 26-year-old single mother living in Washington, D.C., circa the early 1970s. She had just about given up on a music career, but through her baby sitter, she met Parsons, who was about to record a solo album and needed a harmony singer.

"I can't believe that wasn't destined to happen," she said.

Harris then played a wonderful version of "Love Hurts," an Everly Brothers song that she recorded with Parsons.

It's a cliche, but when it comes to Harris, some things really do get better with age.

SXSW '07: 3/14 -- TOWNSHEND TALKS, THEN ROCKS

No matter what the forum is, Pete Townshend isn't shy -- and he doesn't send mixed signals, either.

The way he sees it, the death of bassist John Entwistle contributed to a different dynamic within The Who.

"The chemistry that we have today is a completely different one, but it's just as effective," he told Bill Flanagan during Wednesday's keynote address. "It's just different. I think it enabled us to make a new record. I think if John had been alive, it would have been much, much, much tougher to make [Endless Wire]."

Townshend also said that Who singer Roger Daltrey is "not interested" with such music industry changes as the technological methods in which music can be distributed.

"He just knows that he's lucky," he said. "He's a singer, he's got this big brand name, he's [in] a baby boomer band, a baby boomer audience -- and sometimes they bring their kids, so we get an extra 10 percent. ... He's happy with his position, and so he should be."

Townshend, however, is very much into technology, and he used the keynote conversation to discuss what he calls the Method. It's a Web site launching next month that will offer subscribers the chance to create their own unique composition by "sitting" for the Method software composer, a process he likened to sitting for a portrait painting.

"You come to the Web site, and we give you a piece of music, which is yours -- completely unique," he said. "In fact, we allow you to own a third of the copyright, so if Coca-Cola decides to use it for their next commercial, you might get rich."

Later Wednesday night, Townshend was an unscheduled guest at the Austin Music Awards. He strapped on a guitar and joined former Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, an Austin resident, and his band for a tribute to the late Ronnie Lane. And while he didn't bust out his trademark windmill move, Townshend still played with abandon, moving around as though he owned the stage.

Also playing with a purpose at the awards show were singers and new Austin residents Bobby Whitlock, who is best known for his work with Derek and the Dominos, and his wife, CoCo Carmel. They performed a handful of tunes from the band's Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, including a moving version of "Bell Bottom Blues," with Carmel on saxophone and Whitlock on piano.

On the Day Stage on Wednesday afternoon, Robyn Hitchcock served as performer and interviewer, playing various cover songs that complemented producer Joe Boyd's answers and excerpts from his new book, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s. Topics discussed included the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival (during which Bob Dylan famously "went electric") and Boyd's work with The Incredible String Band, Pink Floyd and Nick Drake.

SXSW '07: 3/14 -- IT'S A SCENE, AND IT'S A MADHOUSE, TOO

What a difference a day makes.

Tuesday afternoon and into the evening, one could enter the Austin Convention Center and pick up credentials in less time than a typical Grateful Dead jam.

Not Wednesday. The lines for SXSW music badges are very long. Spotted near the pickup point was singer Michael Des Barres, who folks might remember for his role with the 1980s supergroup The Power Station. He looked as cool as can be in his tinted shades and blue scarf, but quickly showed his age by shaking his head, covering his ears and saying "Wow!" in reaction to an announcement over the PA system.

Not looking as dapper was former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who seemed lost as he walked from one end of the upper floor to the other in his drab raincoat and tousled hair. He's scheduled to speak Saturday during the Monterey Pop panel.

On the performance side, the bass-less trio Say Hi to Your Mom played the convention center's Day Stage and featured a Pixies-ish sound that unfortunately was countered with a statuesque presence.

Pete Townshend is set to deliver the keynote tonight. Check back later for a recap, plus more performance highlights.

SXSW '07: 3/13 -- THE CALM BEFORE THE MUSICAL STORM

In recent years, as the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference/festival has scheduled a full slate of panels and performances on Wednesday, it makes more sense than ever to arrive in Austin, Texas, the day before.

The early birds who flew into Austin this afternoon featured an assortment of accents, aromas and attitudes, not to mention a rainbow of hair colors and all types of facial hair designs.

One guy near baggage claim was sporting an electric blue mohawk. Another guy was wearing a kilt -- and unfortunately, he didn't keep his legs closed as he sat and waited for his luggage.

One of the town's slogans is "Keep Austin Weird." That's never an issue during the music portion of SXSW.

With only a smattering of music events scheduled, as well as wet weather, tonight was a good time to get settled, plan the next four days and sift through the myriad items in the SXSW tote bag. (One is given to each music badge registrant.)

One CD came with a voodoo doll. Now that's clever marketing.

Tune in Wednesday for a recap of that day's events.

RICHARDS THE RACONTEUR

In addition to being a great songwriter and rhythm guitarist, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones is a good talker.

If the subject is a musician he admires -- Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry or Muddy Waters, for example -- Richards will be off and running, punctuating his anecdotes, analysis and memories with a wicked cackle and hand gestures, all the while leaving a wavy trail of smoke from his ever-present cigarette.

Richards' storytelling skills ought to be on full display tonight (March 12) as he inducts the Ronettes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He and Ronnie Spector have known each other for more than 40 years, so there are bound to be some tales worth telling. Maybe Richards has a funny gem or two about the Stones' 1964 U.K. tour with the Ronettes, during which Richards and Spector, as she recalls on her Web site, would get out of the van carrying both groups and approach a stranger's house for cup of tea when the fog was too thick.

They've remained friends and in touch ever since. These days, Richards and Spector have homes in Connecticut not too far from each other. Richards also has recorded and performed with Spector, and he's among the guests on her album Last of the Rock Stars, released last year overseas.

Should Richards get on a roll tonight, here's hoping the show's producers let him talk until he decides that he's finished.

VH1 Classic will air the ceremony tonight starting at 8:30 p.m.

NOTABLE LOCALS, VOL. 3

The South by Southwest music conference/festival is right around the corner. With that in mind, here's a look at two sonically similar Jersey Shore-area bands that will be playing next week in Austin, Texas, at events surrounding SXSW.

ECHO SCREEN

This Brick pop-punk foursome (above) released its full-length debut, Euphoria, in November via Rock Out Records.

Two standout songs from the disc (the pumped-up rockers "This Letter Bomb" and "Everything After Bradford") can be heard on Echo Screen's MySpace page. In addition, there's "Autumn in Disguise," a relatively quiet track from An American Tale that shows the band isn't one-dimensional.

The band's tour itinerary includes three Texas dates, the first of which is a March 17 gig at Momo's in Austin.

Official site: www.echoscreennj.com

MySpace page: www.myspace.com/echoscreen

Upcoming Jersey shows:
April 13: First Presbyterian Church of Matawan -- Matawan



SOMEDAY NEVER

Hailing from Marlboro, Someday Never (above) blends emo-infused melodies with near-metallic guitar muscle. The exceptional "Let's Get Lit and Storm the Castle," one of seven songs on the band's 2006 EP, The Natural Trend of Breathing (All Records), is just as anthemic as the title suggests.

The band rolls through Austin on March 16 for a show at Nuno's.

MySpace page: www.myspace.com/somedaynever

Upcoming Jersey shows:
March 31: Somers Point Firehall --- Somers Point
April 5: Hamilton Street -- Bound Brook
April 7: Nine Ball Billiards -- Browns Mills
April 13: First Presbyterian Church of Matawan -- Matawan

DEFINITIVE DEBATE

All lists are debatable, and that includes the Definitive 200.

It's described as "a list of 200 ranked albums that every music lover should own," as determined by music retailers.

What did or did not make the list -- developed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- is just as disturbing as where certain albums ranked.

The first jazz entry is Miles Davis' Kind of Blue at No. 34. The second jazz album on the list is John Coltrane's A Love Supreme at No. 78, then you have to go to the second half of the list to find the other two jazz entries: the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out (No. 150) and George Benson's Breezin' (No. 177).

The first Elvis Presley album to make it is 2004's Elvis at Sun, which placed at No. 53. But for whatever reason, his landmark self-titled debut from 1956 checks in at No. 147.

There's only one Frank Sinatra album and nothing at all by George Jones, Hank Williams, Tony Bennett, James Brown, B.B. King, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds, Ray Charles or Sly and the Family Stone, just to name a few.

Among the head-scratching inclusions: Jewel's Pieces of You (No. 64), Matchbox Twenty's Yourself or Someone Like You (No. 91), Nelly's Country Grammar (No. 94), Will Smith's Big Willie Style (No. 154) and Avril Lavigne's Let Go (No. 162).

For the record, the Top 10 (in order) is The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Led Zeppelin's fourth album, U2's The Joshua Tree, The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street, Carole King's Tapestry, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Nirvana's Nevermind.

A SECOND LOOK AT THREE DOG NIGHT

Those who watched Lost and American Idol last week heard songs associated with one of the most commercially successful -- and critically dismissed -- acts of the early-to-mid 1970s.

The tunes were "Shambala" and "Joy to the World," and both were huge hits for Three Dog Night. The group certainly was not on the same level as, say, The Rolling Stones or Creedence Clearwater Revival, but TDN definitely rocked a lot more than The Carpenters and Bread. And having three solid, soulful singers –- Chuck Negron, Cory Wells and Danny Hutton -- set the group apart from most everyone else at the time.

Three Dog Night dominated the AM airwaves during an era when such AM giants as New York’s WABC and WNBC played the biggest hits of the day, and when cars came factory equipped with AM radios. From 1970-75, the group scored 17 Top 40 Billboard pop hits, among them "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," "Never Been to Spain" and "The Show Must Go On." While the band wasn't a songwriting force, it did make the most of its outside material, written by such notables as Randy Newman, Hoyt Axton, Laura Nyro and John Hiatt.

America, another Three Dog Night contemporary in the 1970s, also was looked upon as lightweight and uncool during its commercial peak. Recently, the tide turned somewhat when Adam Schlesinger, Ryan Adams and James Iha teamed with the group for its new Here & Now album.

That kind of luck probably will not happen for Three Dog Night, but being connected to two of broadcast television's top shows isn't bad, either, and it just might lead to a different public perception. Meanwhile, even without a stamp of approval from hip musicians, there's no shame in admitting here and now that Negron, Wells, Hutton and company made some pretty good hits during their prime.

LET'S CURB THE COVER ALBUMS

There's nothing wrong with padding an album with a choice cover song or two.

But releasing an entire album of cover songs? That smacks of laziness, and in recent years, some big names from various genres have opted to do a little coasting.

Among the stars who have taken the all-cover disc route are Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart, Eddie Money, Mandy Moore, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, Alan Jackson, Joss Stone, John Pizzarelli and Ozzy Osbourne.

Poised to join that list is former Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry, whose all-Bob Dylan cover album, Dylanesque, is due in June.

This is not to say that these type of efforts are unlistenable. It's just that after one play, there's usually no point in revisiting them because rarely do the covers top the originals -- or, in the case of standards, the most famous versions. And in many instances, the covers are near carbon-copies of the originals -- same tempo, same arrangement, etc.

Rappers often get slammed for doing their thing over segments of music (both familiar and obscure) from existing recordings.

Artists who cherry-pick songs for an all-covers album -- they're taking a quick, easy and uncreative shortcut, too.