Flaming Lips -> 5 shows in Mississippi this JUNE for 8 city world record attempt!!!!

DIVERSE MIX OF ARTISTS RALLY TO SUPPORT THE FLAMING LIPS DURING GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT AS PART OF O MUSIC AWARDS

GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS, GARY CLARK JR, HUNTER HAYES, GIVERS, NEON INDIAN, GRIMES AND MORE TO PLAY SHOWS DURING O MUSIC AWARDS TOUR HITTING MEMPHIS, CLARKSDALE, OXFORD, JACKSON, HATTIESBURG, BILOXI, BATON ROUGE AND NEW ORLEANS ON JUNE 27^TH AND JUNE 28^TH

TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WITH PARTIAL PROCEEDS DONATED TO VH1’S SAVE THE MUSIC FOUNDATION

NEARLY 10 MILLION VOTES CAST

24 HOURS/ 24 AWARDS/ 8 CITIES/ 1 HISTORIC ROAD TRIP

New York, June 7, 2012 – Viacom Music Group, which includes MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, today announced the first batch of diverse artists set to join The Flaming Lips in their quest to break the Guinness World Records® title for the Most Live Concerts In 24 Hours (Multiple Cities) during the groundbreaking and Webby Award winning O Music Awards, www.omusicawards.com, a digitally driven event that celebrates and honors the artists, fans and innovators impacting digital music culture. Beginning June 27^th, the O Music Awards will play out across all our screens and linear networks in the form of the world’s first 24-hour award show live stream via a historic and hectic bus ride through the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, in which two-time O Music Award nominee and multiple Grammy winners The Flaming Lips will board a vintage tour bus named “Endeavor” and zigzag across the region in an attempt to break the world record currently held by Jay-Z. Along the route and throughout the show, O Music Awards will feature a series of 8 concerts (one in each city) for fans to celebrate and cheer The Flaming Lips on as they attempt to break the record. At each O Music Awards concert, an eclectic mix of artists including Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Gary Clark Jr., Hunter Hayes, GIVERS, Neon Indian, Grimes, New Fumes and others to be announced will play a full set before The Flaming Lips arrive on the bus to take the stage for a not-to-miss mini-set featuring many surprise collaborations and guests. Tickets go on sale tomorrow and can be purchased through the individual venues listed here. Partial proceeds from the show will be donated to VH1’s Save the Music Foundation. Can’t get a ticket or make the show? No worries. The entire show will be streamed live on OMusicAwards.com and accessible on all platforms including mobile and tablets.

During the 24 hour live stream, 24 awards will be presented to winners. Fans can vote now up until the show via OMusicAwards.com in a wide assortment of categories that include Must Follow Artist on Twitter, Best Online Concert Experience, Most Adorable Viral Star, Fan Army FTW, Best Music App and Digital Genius Award. Nearly 10 million votes have been cast since voting kicked off on May 23^rd.

But this is no mere awards show; it’s a celebration of musical roots and a down and dirty, 24-hour live stream where anything can happen. The Flaming Lips will be in a constant state of “go” as cameras follow them on the bus, on the stage and everywhere in between. Along the way, the band will stop in 8 different cities and will play alongside a wide range of artists, meet up with fans and presenters who will dole out awards, and, of course, deal with all the pitfalls and unexpected detours that a multi-state road trip entails – flat tires, stops at musical monuments, and perhaps the occasional music-making special guests and hitchhikers. Almost anyone might show up at any moment. The audience at home can watch it all from any screen and, naturally, interact, influence, and play a part in the voyage as they head toward the final destination.

As a collective endeavor of MTV, VH1, CMT & Logo, O Music Awards were created to spotlight the diversity of music across digital platforms and provide fans a touch point to discover emerging artists and technology trends that span multiple sounds and genres. Past O Music Awards events have served as springboards to launch artists including Foster the People, Mac Miller, Chiddy Bang, Matt & Kim and the Alabama Shakes.

“Since our very first show on Fremont Street in Las Vegas when Matt & Kim appeared inside of a giant cube, O Music Awards have been a platform for fans to discover new artists and bands,” said Rick Krim, Executive VP, Talent & Music Programming Strategy, VH1. “This cycle we’re featuring the most eclectic line-up to date: indie rock, blues and country. With The Flaming Lips driving the ship, we’re looking forward to seeing the lines of these genres blur and swirl into something new and unexpected.”

On June 26, the day before the show kicks off, to overwhelming demand, The Flaming Lips will release THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS on physical CD and digitally via all digital retailers. THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS just may be their most adventurous recorded experience to date. The album contains the band’s unique and experimental collaborations with a diverse cross-section of heavy friends from every corner of the musical cosmos, including vocal and musical assistance from such disparate playmates as Yoko Ono, Nick Cave, Bon Iver, Ke$ha and many more. A new track recorded with Aaron Behrens of Ghostland Observatory is exclusive to the CD and digital versions and was not included on the vinyl edition.

Opening up for The Flaming Lips in the individual cities along the route are:

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont. Formed in 2002 in upstate NY while attending St. Lawrence University, they began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums and touring extensively across the country, becoming a "must see" band on the music festivals circuit, playing as many as 200 gigs a year. In 2005 they signed with Hollywood Records and since then have released three critically-acclaimed studio albums, encompassing rock, blues, Americana, and alternative rock. Their third, self-titled album (2010) has been a major commercial success. The album debuted at #19 on Billboard's Top 200 chart while single "Paris Ooh La La hit #1 on iTunes rock charts.  They will release their fourth studio album, The Lion The Beast The Beat on June 12 and are currently on a national US tour. USA Today recently proclaimed, "Potter is the best female rock singer in the country right now."

Gary Clark Jr., Austin based Rock and Soul star has been declared by Rolling Stone "Best Young Gun" in the April 2011, "Best of Rock" issue and ranked his Bright Lights EP number 40 on its list of its top 50 albums of 2011.  Gary’s live shows are fast becoming legends in the making with over the top media accolades, declaring Gary as One To Watch in 2012.  His growing legion of supporters include: Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, David Lynch, Keith Richards, Quest Love, and on and on.  Look for Gary’s debut album on Warner Bros. Records later this year.

Hunter Hayes is country music singer and songwriter from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. At 20, Hayes has already accomplished more than many artists do their entire career, including singing “Jambalaya” with Hank Williams Jr. in front of 200,000 people (15 million YouTube views) at the age of four; appearing with Robert Duvall (who gave Hunter his first guitar) in “The Apostle” at the age of six; and playing with Johnny and June Cash, and Charlie Daniels at a BBQ. His self-titled album was released in October of 2011 and has thus far yielded the hits Storm Warning and Wanted.

GIVERS are an indie rock band from Lafayette, Louisiana, whose debut album 'In Light' has been featured by the NY Times, Spin Magazine, Stereogum, American Songwriter, NPR and many more. The band is known for their high-energy live show having spent the past year on the road, playing countless shows and festivals thrilling crowds at Coachella, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Hang Out Fest, ACL, Voodoo CMJ, SXSW and more. In 2012, GIVERS won 3 "Best of the Beat Awards", the local New Orleans music awards, for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album, and Song of the Year for their infectious hit, "Up, Up, Up."  GIVERS are on tour this summer with upcoming shows at Lollapalooza and NYC's Central Park Summerstage. 

Neon Indian is an indie electronic band from Denton, Texas.  The music is composed by Mexican-born Alan Palomo (born July 24, 1988), also known for his work with the band Ghosthustler and as the artist VEGA. The band's debut, Psychic Chasms, has received many favorable reviews, including the designation of Best New Music and 14th best album of 2009 by Pitchfork Media. The Rolling Stone magazine called Neon Indian one of the hottest new bands of 2010.

With a swooping, baby-voiced singing style, Grimes (the alias of Vancouver native Claire Boucher) crafts a haunting brand of lo-fi dance music that fits stylistically within the goth-electronic umbrella coined "witch house" or "grave wave." In 2010 she put out two cassettes, Geidi Primes and Halfaxa, which were both made available as free downloads. Darkbloom, a split EP with D'Eon, was released on Arbutus/Hippos in Tanks in 2011. Soon after, Grimes signed to the legendary U.K. label 4AD for the release of 2012's Visions.

Full itinerary below:

June 27                                  New Fumes & The Flaming Lips                   Memphis, TN            Handy Park                           

June 27                                  Gary Clark Jr & The Flaming Lips                Clarksdale, MS          Ground Zero Blues’ Club     

June 27                                  Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, &The Flaming Lips  Oxford, MS    The Lyric                               

June 28                                  Neon Indian & The Flaming Lips                   Jackson, MS              Duling Hall                            

June 28                                  Hunter Hayes & The Flaming Lips                 Hattiesburg, MS       Benny’s Boom Boom Room 

June 28                                  TBD & The Flaming Lips                       Biloxi, MS                Hard Rock Casino                 

June 28                                  GIVERS & The Flaming Lips                         Baton Rouge, LA      Varsity                               

June 28                                  Grimes &The Flaming Lips                            New Orleans              TBD                

Confirmed sponsors include Capital One, Honda, SK Energy, State Farm, and Starbucks® Frappuccino® blended beverages.

MH's VOODOO Experience 2011 coverage A.K.A--- Lisa Papale's TOP 10 awesome things about VOODOO!!!!!!

by Lisa Papale

Photos by Clay Hardwick

November 15, 2011

I have a confession to make. Until this year, I had never attended the Voodoo Music Experience. I know, I know—as a native New Orleanian, it’s shameful. Sacrilege, even. But thanks to the lovely folks at Mississippi Happening, I got the opportunity of a lifetime: I was sent to this year’s festival to cover the action and interview some amazing bands, so that our readers could get a feel for the experience as if they were right there with me. I had an amazing time, for sure!

So, here goes:

THE TOP TEN MOST AWESOME THINGS ABOUT VOODOO 2011

1. Seeing bands I love and have wanted to see.

Naturally, it makes sense that the best part of any music festival would be the music. At Voodoo, though, there is just so much to see—with six stages, it’s next to impossible to see every single performance that is going on. There is literally always a performance going on during the festival—which isn’t generally a problem, until two bands that you really want to see happen to have overlapping performance times. Which happened to me a lot, actually. That’s ok, though—I still got to see every band I wanted to see before I had to leave Sunday afternoon.

Mates of State

Husband-and-wife duo Mates of State wowed the crowd on Friday afternoon at Le Ritual, Voodoo’s main stage.

“Maracas” got everyone in a good mood.

Band of Horses

Band of Horses performed songs from their latest album, Infinite Arms. Front-man, Ben Bridwell.

Band of Horses bassist, Bill Reynolds.

Major Lazer

Major Lazer threw an amazing party during his set on the Le Plur stage, Friday afternoon.

Major Lazer wasn’t afraid to get a little up-close-and-personal with his fans. In fact, by the end of his set, several dozen fans were pulled on stage to dance.

Soundgarden

Soundgarden was the band to see Friday night at Le Ritual.

Fans and press alike were excited to see Soundgarden perform classics like “Black Hole Sun.”

Girl Talk

On Saturday night at the Le Plur stage, mash-up artist Girl Talk took to the stage dressed like Freddy Krueger.

It didn’t take long at all for the party to get kicking during Girl Talk’s set.

Girl Talk’s set was definitely a Voodoo-worthy blowout—a high-energy performance full of pyrotechnics, confetti, and costumes.

Blink-182

Blink-182 headlined Le Ritual on Saturday night. I nearly lost it when they played hits like “What’s My Age Again?” and “The Rock Show.”

Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker.

Portugal. The Man

Portugal. The Man cooled things down at the Bingo! Parlour Le Carnival stage on Sunday afternoon.

Portugal. The Man played songs from their latest album, In the Mountain in the Cloud. This was the set I was most looking forward to during the entire weekend—it definitely lived up to my expectations!

2. Discovering bands that I am now obsessed with.

While some people are primarily concerned with just seeing the bands they know and love perform at festivals like Voodoo, I was most excited about getting to see bands I’d either just been introduced to or had never even heard of at all. Luckily, this year’s lineup provided a number of amazing opportunities to be exposed to great artists I otherwise probably wouldn’t have found on my own.

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

I couldn’t get enough of the offbeat stylings of Quintron and Miss Pussycat.

Miss Pussycat shakes her maracas at the Bingo! Parlour.

Quintron.

Other performers I saw over the weekend that I am now more than moderately obsessed with include: The Wombats, Peelander-Z, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Bangerz, and The Limousines.

3. Hanging out with some amazing musicians.

Part of my trip to this year’s festival included conducting some interviews with some bands for Mississippi Happening! I was excited to sit down and chat with these amazingly talented people—keep your eyes peeled for these upcoming stories, right here at MH!

Kora Konnection

Kora Konnection, a group of traditional African performers, delighted and educated its audiences Friday afternoon at the Preservation Hall stage.

I was thrilled to sit and talk with drummer Jeff Klein after Kora Konnection’s set.

Fort Knox Five

Before our interview with Fort Knox Five, we got to check out their quick performance at the Toyota Free Yr Radio tent.

I got to sit and chat with three of the four core members of Fort Knox Five, Steve Raskin, Jon Horvath, and Rob Myers.

Later on Saturday afternoon, I got to see Fort Knox Five in action during their set on Le Plur.

Happy Talk Band

New Orleans natives Happy Talk Band rocked the Bingo! Parlour Saturday afternoon.

Happy Talk Band.

I got to chat with them about their show coming up this weekend at the Ole Tavern on George Street in Jackson, MS.

Fishbone

Fishbone bassist, John Norwood Fisher, guitarist, Rocky George, & trombonist Jay Armant jam at the Bingo! Parlour on Sunday afternoon.

Fishbone singer and saxophonist, Angelo Moore.

Fishbone’s Angelo is returned to the stage after a crowd surf. I was lucky enough to chat with Moore and Fisher at the festival.

4. Taking photos in the press pit.

On Sunday, photographer Clay Hardwick graciously gave me a chance to take photos from the press pit, so I could get to experience the festival from another perspective. Now, how could I pass that up?

GIVERS

I got to shoot the first song of Givers’ set on Sunday at the Bud Light /WWOZ stage. It’s surreal to get to photograph one of your favorite bands, for sure. After “Saw You First,” I had to bow out and leave the professional photography to Clay.

Givers put on a high energy show that Clay and I both had a lot of fun shooting.

(Don’t forget to check out MH’s interview with Givers’ Tiffany Lamson!)

After a (relatively) successful experience in the pit, Clay said I needed to experience photography from the big pit at the main stage, Le Ritual.

The pit at the main stage can get pretty crowded, especially during sets like Band of Horses.

We decided I would shoot the Odd Future set Sunday afternoon, so I could get the chance to photograph an exciting group. So Clay gave me a crash course in manual photography and sent me on my way.

Despite some slight hang-ups with the Odd Future set, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to photograph the group. I definitely learned a lot about photographing performers, and consequently, I’ve developed a profound respect for photographers and what they do.

5. Seeing some amazing art installations.

People tend to forget that Voodoo is not just about the music—while the music is a crucial part of the festival’s success, the overall experience is what the festival tries to offer its supporters. Large art installations can be found throughout the festival, and they certainly do add another level of interest and importance to the festival.

Giant mushrooms popped up around the Bingo! Parlour and Bud Light/WWOZ stages.

Artists worked on a large-scale collaborative piece all throughout the festival weekend.

Large mechanical statues were prominently displayed throughout City Park.

6. Shopping at some nifty boutiques.

Not only is the Voodoo Experience a great place to catch shows and view amazing art, but it’s also a good place to get your shop on! Dozens of local vendors offer everything from jewelry to hair extensions to voodoo dolls. Shopping at Voodoo is definitely a great way to support local small businesses!

7. Eating alligator for the first time.

Tastes like chicken.

8. Getting amazing ideas for costumes.

Halloween in New Orleans has always been one of my favorite times of the year, simply because you get to see a lot of humor and creativity… but put a few thousand music-loving festival goers in one place, and you see a slew of incredible (and incredibly funny) costumes. It’s just one more thing that adds to the overall charm and appeal of the Voodoo Experience.

9. Making new friends and catching up with old friends.

Aside from meeting talented artists through interviews, I also got to see several talented artists that Mississippi Happening considers dear friends.

Rotary Downs

I was happy to get to see our good friends, New Orleans staple Rotary Downs, perform at the Bingo! Parlour on Saturday afternoon.

The New Orleans Bingo! Show

I was also really glad I could catch up with Ronnie Numbers and Trixie Minx from The New Orleans Bingo! Show on Saturday night! (Luckily, this time, I didn’t have to do the robot.)

10. Being a part of something bigger than myself.

Last but not least, probably one of the most interesting aspects of the Voodoo Experience is the understanding that you’ve spent a weekend with thousands of complete strangers, yet each person will go home with memories of an experience shared by all. It’s simply remarkable to see so many people come together and share their love of music, art, and New Orleans.

***

For my first Voodoo Experience—not too shabby, New Orleans. Now, as a hardened festival veteran, I’m looking forward to next year’s shindig!