NASHVILLE |ALANIS MORISSETTE’S ‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC’
UTILIZES ECLECTIC ARRAY OF INSTRUMENTS
‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC’ TOUR TO FEATURE FAN-SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FROM THROUGHOUT SINGER-SONGWRITER’S CAREER
For ALANIS MORISSETTE’s studio, acoustic song-for-song rendering JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC, she and co-creator Glen Ballard utilized an eclectic group of acoustic instruments–from perapaloshka to marzophone, cajon tomaraca, pump organ to pianoforte–and reworked many of the original song’s harmonies and melodies. Combined with string arrangements by Ballard and Suzie Katayama, plus performances from ALANIS’ current touring band, the resulting sound is elegant and contemporary, while still as passionate and powerful as ever.
JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC comes out June 13 on Maverick, six days after ALANIS’ launches the “JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC TOUR”–her first-ever acoustic tour–in Toronto . The 27-date “Live @ VH1.Com Presents”jaunt will visit distinguished venues throughout North America before wrapping July 17 in Costa Mesa, CA. The tour will feature the music of JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC, plus highlights from throughout the seven-time Grammy Award winner’s career, as chosen by fans on her website.
In a unique agreement between Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) Hear Music and Maverick Records, JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC will be sold exclusively in Starbucks Company-operated stores in North America and viawww.starbucks.com/hearmusic beginning June 13, 2005–ten years to the date of the original recording’s release–and throughout the six weeks of the acoustic tour, after which it will also be sold at traditional retail outlets.
Ten years ago, ALANIS MORISSETTE was thrust into the global spotlight by the monumental success of her groundbreaking album Jagged Little Pill and its accompanying world tour. Looking back, she calls the period “a life-altering event and I think the biggest piece of that was my no longer being anonymous. I already considered myself an observer of life, an observer of people and of the human condition. Then all of a sudden I was the person being observed. That was jarring for me, and there was a lot of grief involved in that my life was going to be forever altered in that way.” Ten years later, MORISSETTE adds, “I’m glad I didn’t jump off a bridge then. I have a lot more objectivity on why people connected with the songs, whereas ten years ago I didn’t really understand.”
With over 30 million copies sold around the world, Jagged Little Pill definitely connected with music lovers the way few other recordings have. Here are some of the responses to the 1995 breakthrough from various artists and actors.
Lisa Marie Presley:
“JAGGED LITTLE PILL broke the dam and opened a floodgate for women in rock! That was the single most inspiring record I have ever heard.
God Bless Alanis Morissette! I admire the holy hell out of her for doing that!!!”
Avril Lavigne:
“JAGGED LITTLE PILL is my favorite record. It’s really original and authentic. It’s very honest lyrically.”
Kathy Najimy:
“Like an unexpected eclipse, Alanis organically shocked us, grabbed our attention and brought a sense of strength, honesty, rage, soul and passion that reached more women and men than any other artist in decades…With honesty, humor and fearlessness–Alanis is both a shock and a joy to our being.”
Woody Harrelson:
“I first heard ‘Hand In My Pocket’ in a taxi in Dublin and was blown away by the song but thought it was Ani Di Franco. A few months later I’m in Memphis filming ‘Larry Flynt’ and went to see Alanis when she came through town. I was with my buddies wearing a diamond vagina necklace that had been loaned to me by Larry. Afterward I met her and she was curious about the necklace and surprisingly non-judgmental. We played a game of ping-pong to eleven which I lost, so I asked if we could extend the game to twenty one and I won. Felt oddly like a cliché of a man represented in some of her songs. Over the years I have come to think of her as an uber goddess, one of the most powerful and centered women I have ever known and so perhaps this music that comes from her shouldn’t surprise me so much. But still it blows my mind and now my kids love it too. Aside from her music, I admire her dedication to the environment. She was one of the first artists to use non-wood post consumer waste paper for one of her albums. She did it with no fanfare and even came out of pocket for some of the expense.”
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About Starbucks Hear Music
Founded in 1990, and acquired by Starbucks Coffee Company in 1999, Starbucks Hear Music is the voice of music at Starbucks. Starbucks Hear Music is dedicated to creating a new and convenient way for consumers to discover, experience and acquire all genres of great music through its unique editorial voice, CD compilations, and music programming for Starbucks coffeehouses worldwide, as well as its innovative partnerships with other music labels to produce, market and distribute both exclusive and non-exclusive music. In 2004, Starbucks Hear Music launched a 24-hour digital music channel with XM Satellite Radio (XM Channel 75), the Starbucks Hear Music™ Coffeehouse in Santa Monica where customers can select from over 15,000 CDs or burn their own custom mixes, and the Starbucks Hear Music™ media bars, a service that offers custom CD burning at select Starbucks retail locations in Seattle and Austin. Starbucks Hear Music™ CDs are featured at Hear Music and Starbucks retail locations, as well as www.starbucks.com and www.hearmusic.com.
About Starbucks Coffee Company
Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 9,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim . The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition to its retail operations, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino® coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot™ coffee drink, and a line of superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company’s brand portfolio provides a wide variety of consumer products. Tazo Tea’s line of innovative premium teas and Hear Music’s exceptional compact discs enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products. The Seattle ’s Best Coffee® and Torrefazione Italia® Coffee brands enable Starbucks to appeal to a broader consumer base by offering an alternative variety of coffee flavor profiles.
About AEG LIVE
AEG LIVE, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring for a variety of programming and multi-media production. AEG LIVE, the nation’s second largest concert promotion and touring company, with five regional offices, is comprised of stand-alone affiliate divisions including: AEG LIVE Events, creators and producers of special events of all sizes; AEG-TV, devoted to creation and marketing of live events for television, DVD, pay-per-view, cinema and other electronic media and AEG Radio, developers and packagers of national and regional radio programming. AEG LIVE Tours & Special Events and AEG LIVE Exhibitions, the company’s national promotion divisions are currently producing tours and productions including Celine Dion. A New Day…Presented By Chrysler now appearing at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the recently announced “Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs,” an international tour of the artifacts of King Tut. Recently promoted concert tours have included artists such as Prince, Usher, Kenny Chesney, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera and Dixie Chicks. Goldenvoice, the company’s southern California-based regional promotion division created and operates the award-winning annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. AEG LIVE is a partner with Queen Latifah and Usher in separate joint ventures, which include merchandise, touring, CD and long-form DVD releases. The company operates NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie ( Texas ) and will be opening a 2,100-seat Theater in Times Square in 2005.
About “Live @ VH1.com”:
A stripped down program, showcasing music and musicians in a relaxed setting, is available online on VH1.com and on-air on VH1. VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno, VH1 Mega Hits and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at http://www.VH1.com.
Contacts:
ALANIS MORISSETTE STARBUCKS ENTERTAINMENT
MSO Emily Glassman
818 380 0400 206 318 7933
Mitch Schneider (ext 235) emily.glassman@starbucks.com
Marcee Rondan (ext 248)
Lathum Nelson (ext 227)
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