DATE: JANUARY 22, 2007
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/SHAZILA MOHAMMED
OTHER TELEVISION APPEARANCES INCLUDE
PBS’ ‘SOUNDSTAGE’ AND ‘TAVIS SMILEY SHOW’ PLUS ‘EXTRA’
CRITICAL BUZZ IS BUILDING FOR ALBUM,
WHICH WILL BE UNVEILED IN EXCITING DIGITAL WAYS
RICKIE LEE JONES is set to perform “Falling Up”—the first single from her forthcoming album THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD, due out February 6, 2007 via New West Records—on the “Late Show With David Letterman” Monday, February 12. This appearance will come on the heels of the February 10 launch of the two-time Grammy Award winner’s North American concert tour that will encompass shows in major cities. Look for RICKIE to also speak at the SXSW convention Friday, March 16 in Austin, TX.
RICKIE will also perform “Falling Up”—already on 23 radio stations nationally in advance of its official January 23 add date—as part of her PBS in-concert special “SoundStage,” premiering nationally February 22 at 10:00 PM (PT/ET) on more than 297 PBS stations. Also look for RICKIE to perform and be interviewed on PBS’ “Tavis Smiley Show” and the nationally syndicated “Extra” (dates TBA)
RICKIE’S “SoundStage” special was taped in December 2006 in Chicago before an ecstatic audience who were treated to RICKIE classics and songs from THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD. This is a different and exciting album from RICKIE, both sonically (it’s Velvet Underground-inspired) and lyrically. Its artful rock stylings are matched with songs that are all inspired by the real words and ideas of Jesus Christ. "People today can't even hear the name Jesus without tensing up because they don't want to be associated with the TV evangelists and that lot," says RICKIE. “I just wanted to level the playing field a bit.”
The buzz on the album has begun. "…Sermon is a mystical masterpiece that works in service to the miracle and purity of beauty; it worships beats as much as language…” raved Jim Walsh at CITYPAGES.COM (December 31, 2006) in an early review of the album.
In a preview of her appearance at the WFUV holiday show in New York City in December, TIME OUT NEW YORK had this to say: “"…we must make special mention of Rickie Lee Jones, whose forthcoming disc, 'The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard' (New West, due in February) is as fine as anything she's made since that late-'70s stuff people mostly still associate her with” (December 14-27, 2006).
In other RICKIE LEE JONES news, there's excitement around the way the album will be unveiled digitally to fans. A podcast to be featured on iTunes will deliver seven video podcasts, one a day, about Rickie and the making the album, during the week leading up to the album's release. To complement these clips, a five-minute documentary will be released in Quicktime HD format to be featured on Apple's Quicktime website as well as Bittorrent.com, which will allow fans to easily trade the high definition video through innovative peer to peer networking. Additionally, the deluxe version of THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD will include high-resolution mp3 files of the album that are embedded on the Bonus DVD.
The initial tour dates are as follows. Also catch up with RICKIE at www.rickieleejones.com.
DATE | CITY | VENUE | ||
2/10 | Easton, MD | Historic Avalon Theatre | ||
2/13 | Washington, DC | 9:30 Club | ||
2/14 | Glenside, PA | Keswick Theatre | ||
2/16 | New York, NY | The Concert Hall | ||
2/17 | Cambridge, MA | The Sanders Theatre | ||
2/18 | North Hampton, MA | Calvin Theatre | ||
2/20 | Detroit, MI | Majestic Theatre | ||
2/22 | St. Paul, MN | Fitzgerald Theatre | ||
2/23 | Milwaukee, WI | Pabst Theatre | ||
2/24 | Chicago, IL | Portage Theatre | ||
2/26 | Englewood, CO | Gothic Theatre | ||
2/27 | Salt Lake City, UT | The Depot | ||
3/1 | Los Angeles, CA | Henry Fonda Theatre | ||
3/3 | San Francisco, CA | Fillmore | ||
3/5 | Portland, OR | Aladdin Theatre | ||
3/6 | Seattle, WA | Showbox | ||
3/8 | Vancouver, BC | Commodore | ||
3/12 | Singapore | Mosaic Music Fest |
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RICKIE LEE JONES TO PERFORM SINGLE “FALLING UP’’ ON THE ‘LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN’ FEBRUARY 12 IN MIDST OF NATIONAL CONCERT TOUR IN SUPPORT OF FORTHCOMING ALBUM “THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD”