Country Singer J.D. "Cast" King R.I.P.

Just yesterday, December 13, Pitchfork ran a story about the efforts to raise money for J.D. "Cast" King, an 81-year-old country singer and songwriter diagnosed with terminal cancer. The same day, King lost his battle with the disease and passed away at home in Old Sand Mountain, Alabama, according to King's label, Locust Music.

King started playing guitar by teaching himself at the age of 10, and in 1955, he and his band the Country Drifters recorded a few tracks at Memphis' legendary Sun Studio. (The list of people who cut their recording teeth there also includes Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and many others.)

After that time, King seemingly disappeared from any sort of public eye until re-emerging in 2005 with his debut album, Saw Mill Man, which came out on Locust Music.

Even though King has passed, money is still needed to help his family cover medical and funeral expenses. Through its website, the Chicago label is hosting an MP3 of "Saved", a song that would have appeared on a Saw Mill Man follow-up. Just below the MP3 is a link to donate to a PayPal account, 100% of the proceeds from which will go to help King's family.

As previously reported, there will be a benefit concert for King on December 29 at JJ's Bohemia in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The show will feature sets from Citico Stringband, the Bohannons, and Saw Mill Man producer Matt Downer.

Finally, King's music will live on next year, as it provides the backdrop to the closing credits of the forthcoming Gus Van Sant movie Paranoid Park.

Mission of Burma Have a Burmese Mission

Photo by William Kirk

The urge to pun is strong with this one, but it's for a good cause, so I'll be brief: Boston post-punkers Mission of Burma will take the stage at Allston, MA's Great Scott January 20 to benefit the politically and economically troubled Southeast Asian nation of Burma (aka Myanmar).

The veteran band has teamed up with the U.S. Campaign for Burma for the event, and will be joined at the show by pals the Neighborhoods and the In Out. In addition to the music, show-goers will have the opportunity to take in an audiovisual presentation about the current state of Burma, along with speakers discussing the manifold problems the nation faces.

When they're not getting political for a good cause, Mission of Burma are getting political just cuz they don't know any other way. The night before the Burma benefit, they'll make their way to Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, which, presently, stands as the band's only other live plan.

No word yet on the status of those Mission of Burma reissues we mentioned late in the summer, but hey, these dudes have been relevant for nearly three decades now, so a few more months' wait isn't gonna hurt anything. [MORE...]

Kindercore Serves Up Xmas Charity Comp/Comic Book
Featuring Bunnygrunt, Headlights, Venice Is Sinking, King of Prussia, the Observatory

Kindercore Records is back and here to stay, and so is the label's beloved series of Christmas compilations. Third holiday offering Xmas-3: The War on Christmas! came careening down chimneys this week, its trusty sack packed with choice cuts from psych-tinged indie pop faves, all bundled with a compendium comic book and wrapped in that Stan Lee-inspired cover you see over there.

Bunnygrunt, Headlights, Venice Is Sinking, Elephant Six affiliates the Observatory, Je Suis France, and Kindercore's own King of Prussia and Ruby Isle are among those contributing festive fare to the 19-song suite. The doodles, meanwhile, come courtesy of Travis Fox, Ryan Lewis, Jesse Lockwood, Nethie Lockwood, Mat Lewis, Maya Livio, Rama Hughes, Lauren Gregg, and Craig Sheldon.

If you actually want to physically touch this thing, however, you'd best act fast. Only 100 hard copies have been pressed/printed; stall and you'll have to settle for the digital retailer version-- which does, let it be known, still include complete scans of the comic.

Best of all, all proceeds from sales of Xmas-3 go to Oxfam. So score a copy for you and/or your mother-in-law this Christmas. I mean, does she really need that Josh Groban CD? Does he do a holiday jingle called "Baby, Please Don't Get Stoned (It's Christmas)"? Didn't think so.

Kindercore's rebirth continues January 29 with the release of King of Prussia's debut mini-album Save the Scene. [MORE...]

Portastatic, Annuals, Rosebuds Rock Trekky Recs Xmas
Them, and just about every other band in North Carolina

Chapel Hill, North Carolina's Trekky Records favors keeping things close to home; after all, the imprint got its start as a forum for the music of friends of founders (and, of course, North Carolinians) Martin Anderson and Will Hackney.

So you'll be expected to don your tar-iest heels for the label's annual Christmas party, an all-NC affair that brings Portastatic, Annuals, the Rosebuds, the Moaners, Schooner, Sweater Weather, and more of their fellow Old North State residents than you can shake a candycane at to Carrboro's Cat's Cradle December 19. "Christmas at the Cradle", they're calling it.

As with last year, the headliners here aren't a name non-locals will recognize right off. They're the Trekky Yuletide Orchestra, they only play original and traditional Christmas music, they number at least 20, and they're comprised of members of the Trekky Records roster. All proceeds from the gig go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Electrelane Organize Anti-Trafficking Benefit
Alex Paterson from the Orb, Charlotte Hatherley, Adrian Sherwood perform

Kicking around London on a Friday night waiting for the ink to dry on that paycheck? This particular Friday night-- meaning tomorrow, December 14-- you could do a lot worse than to head over to The Fly, where you'll be treated to an evening of fine, fine music of both the live and prerecorded varieties. And it's for a good cause!

The recently disbanded but still chummy Electrelane have organized a benefit show for the Anti-Trafficking Alliance, which works in the UK and abroad to end forced abduction and trafficking into sexual slavery. Alas, Electrelane themselves won't be playing live, but they will be DJing, as will Alex Paterson of the Orb, Anjali, the Early Years, Sinqueso Sisters, and the Broken Hearts. Live, you'll get Charlotte Hatherley, Dot Allison, Adrian Sherwood, It Hugs Back, and Freddie Stevenson rocking and rolling and carrying on.

Donations Sought for Ailing Country Singer Cast King

Two years after issuing his very first album, Saw Mill Man, 81-year-old country singer-songwriter Cast King has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. According to a press release from King's label, Locust Music, it is apparently unlikely he'll live to see 2008.

After spending some time in the hospital, King is currently at home in Alabama with Helen, his wife of 59 years. Due to King's hospital bills and the funeral expenses to come, Helen has amassed quite a bit of debt. To help her out, Locust has made a new song, "Saved", available for download. (It was to be a part of his second record, a gospel album.) They hope that in exchange for the download, people will make donations to a PayPal account, which you can access right on the front page of the label's website. All of the proceeds will go to King's family, and any messages sent along will make their way to him as well.

In addition, a benefit concert will take place December 29 at JJ's Bohemia in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Citico Stringband, the Bohannons, and Matt Downer are scheduled to perform.

Diplo Remixes Spoon's "Don't You Evah" for Charity

Spoon's "Don't You Evah", from their fine Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga LP, has a nice little swing to it, sure. But leave it to Diplo to crank up the bottom end in just about anything he touches, even a straight-ahead rock track from a bunch of tightly-wound Texans.

Diplo's crafted a remix of "Don't You Evah" which the Merge Records digital store is selling this very moment. All proceeds from sales of the tune go to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, an organization that advocates fair practices within Texas courts.

When they're not matching wits for a good cause, Spoon and Diplo are out on the road. (Not together.) Both have but a handful of dates over the next few months. And Spoon presently have a poster signed by the band up on eBay as part of Merge's previously reported charity project. [MORE...]

The Cure Lend Guitar to West Memphis Three Auction
Add European leg to 2008 tour

Is it me, or are charity swag auctions the new childrens' indie rock comps? Remember when you couldn't do a cartwheel without landing on one of those things? No complaining though-- while the merits of the latter are debatable, you can never have enough good deeds. And all that's to say that the Cure are the latest act to contribute to a charity auction.

Robert Smith and his gloom patrol have lent an extra special guitar to a cause of a different sort. They join Henry Rollins, Metallica, Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle, and other outspoken supporters of the men believed wrongfully accused in the hotly-contested West Memphis Three murder case. Proceeds from the auction will go the West Memphis Three's defense fund.

The six-string up on the auction block is a Schecter RS-1000 acoustic (pictured), custom designed according to Smith's specifications, put to use in the studio this year, and signed by Smith and the other three present members of the band. Place your bids beginning tomorrow (December 11) via Skeleton Key Auctions or the Cure's website. The auction closes Christmas Day.

The Cure embark on that rescheduled North American tour in May, and they've added a run of European dates in the months between then and now. And speaking of causes, the Cure also appear on Waxploitations's recently issued Causes 1 compilation. [MORE...]

Cat Power Plans Charity Mission Abroad
Jukebox tour in the works

The past year or so has been quite kind to Chan Marshall. Since releasing The Greatest in 2006, the artist better known as Cat Power has seen her act get cleaned up, her star rise considerably, her fanbase swell, and her record receive accolades left and right. So now, guess what? It's time to give back.

As Marshall revealed in a recent MySpace bulletin (we take it her caps lock key done broke), her charitable endeavors have been a long time coming:

WHEN I WAS IN AFRICA 10 YEARS AGO, I FELT I HAD NO "POWER" TO HELP THE PEOPLE AND DEFINITELY "NO FINANCIAL SECURITY" TO TAKE A TRIP LIKE THIS...
SO, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I CAN FINALLY RETURN, EXACTLY THE WAY I ALWAYS WISHED I COULD...

And return to Africa she will this coming January, on a trip sponsored by NYC-based organization charity: that also includes stops in Bangladesh and India. As she puts it,

GONNA VISIT A FEW HOSPITALS WITH NO WATER
AND THEN GONNA DIG A WELL A FEW SCHOOLS AND
JUST DO BASIC TRAVELING TO 'FIND' NEW PLACES FOR WELLS.
DRIVING IN A 4X4 TRUCK....
WEARING MY HOODIE, JEANS, AND ADIDAS'S FOR 3 WEEKS........
DUDE.
WHERE'S MY EYELINER?
NOPE.

Charity: lists among its goals "stimulating greater global awareness about extreme poverty, educating the public, and provoking compassionate and intelligent giving," and its the awareness in particular that Marshall hopes to bolster. She plans to have her trip filmed, and she'll also journal about her experiences and share photos; internet pending, she may even release a few dispatches directly from the road.

Cat Power will return in time for her birthday, January 21, which doubles as the first night of an in-the-works tour in support of Jukebox. The disc, Chan's second collection of covers, arrives (as you know) the next day via Matador-- now with 100% more Hot Boys! The tour, still coming together, begins in Paris and will whisk Marshall hither and thither worldwide over the ensuing months.

As for charity:, you can do your part as well. Marshall points us to the organization's second annual gala benefit, charity: ball, going down December 17 at New York City's Metropolitan Pavilion. A "special live music performance" is promised; gather from that what you will.

Kanye, Wilco, Flaming Lips Items in Darfur Auction
Also, stuff from: Decemberists, TVOTR, Gnarls Barkley, Bloc Party, Aesop Rock, Common, El-P

Once again, Waxploitation has united a ton of excellent artists (and sure, some less than excellent ones too) in a benefit for the victims of the conflict in Darfur.

The label's fourth auction for the cause has already begun, and it includes signed guitars and other items from Kanye West, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, the Decemberists, TV on the Radio, Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, Bloc Party, Aesop Rock, Common, El-P, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation, RJD2, and my personal faves (seriously) Deftones.

There are also unsigned items in the auction from Brian Wilson, Lupe Fiasco, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Marley, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Don Cheadle, Bam Margera, and Adult Swim. You can access the auction here.

100% percent of the auction's proceeds will benefit three organizations: Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam America.

If you'd like to help those organizations' Darfur relief efforts even more, there's also Waxploitation's Causes 1 compilation.

Sufjan to Play Tibet House Benefit

Photo by Denny Renshaw

Sure, Sufjan Stevens tends to focus on the good old U.S. of A. in his music (assuming he even remembers his own 50 States project at this point), but his most recently announced gig will find him branching out into international territory. On February 13, Sufjan will join Philip Glass, Nawang Khechog, Marisa Monte, and some as-yet-unannounced others at New York City's Carnegie Hall for the Tibet House Annual Benefit Concert.

The rest of Sufjan's 2008 looks to be pretty international as well, with his Australian and Japanese dates scheduled for January. The Down Under dates, we're told, will be supplemented by video projections and a wind and brass ensemble. Stevens' only appearance before that tour is at that rescheduled PENultimate Lit show in Brooklyn this month. [MORE...]

Murdoch, Albarn, Harvey Write Charity Postcards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less than a week after our subhead suggestion of the merchandising similarities between Belle & Sebastian and Gorillaz, both bands' leaders are part of the same charity auction. Postcards written and signed by Stuart Murdoch and Damon Albarn join offerings from Robert Plant, PJ Harvey, Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett, and Massive Attack's Daddy G, among many others, as part of a benefit for Carers UK, an organization that gives financial and emotional support to individuals who provide unpaid health and social care.

The postcards, which were collected by Nothing to Write Home About authors Michelle Abadie (aka Maj) and Susan Beale (aka Dolly), are up for auction on eBay now.

Murdoch's touching little postcard is pictured above, with one of Plant's four abruptly hilarious ones below it. Among the other celebrity contributors to the auction are actress Helen Mirren and Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London. Check out the full list of participants here.

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