Maroon 5

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Maroon 5, Online Store Reverb Announce Sale Of Music Gear, Instruments

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Guitars, keyboards, microphones, drum machines, road cases and more will be for sale, each with its unique aura of musical history
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Aug 28, 2018 - 1:09 pm

Maroon 5 and Reverb have announced that more than 100 items from the band's accumulated musical instruments and gear will be up for sale online through the marketplace, beginning on Aug. 30.

The official announcement at Reverb, which came on Aug. 28, includes an email sign up so prospective buyers can be the first to know when the Techno Empire shop begins listing the items. Some items date as far back as the days when Maroon 5 was still known as Kara's Flowers. Many are from their world tour for the 2002 album Songs About Jane.

The details are more than mouthwatering and even the "Maroon 5"-emblazoned road cases for sale are experienced world travelers. When guys like these tour around with gear like this, memories attach — inspiring collectors and enthusiasts to start their own relationship to guitars, mics and more that already have a place in pop music history.

"It's nice to know that there's some history there when you put your gear in a case that's been all around the world with a band," said keyboard and rhythm-guitar player Jesse Carmichael.

A Gibson Les Paul Jim Beam guitar actually traveled up in the air on tour and landed with unknown consequences but still looks great. An Akai MPC 4000 drum machine enjoyed spending songwriting days at producer Rick Rubin's fabled Laurel Canyon home, also known as "The Mansion." A one of a kind Keytar prototype will tempt you alongside Carmichael's first tour buddy — a Yamaha S90 keyboard — as well as a versatile Open Labs MiKo keyboard that might even have some samples still on it. The guitars, keyboards, microphones and more all made a difference to Maroon 5's unique success and are ready to be passed on to new owners, for new creations.

"We used all of this gear when we were kids, working hard to establish ourselves as a band," said Carmichael. "Now, we're in a new phase and we need to clear out what we're not using anymore to make room for the equipment that will help us create what comes next. This gear was such a huge part of our story and I hope that it goes to an up-and-coming band or musicians who can make it part of their own story."

Maroon 5's first GRAMMY win was for Best New Artist at the 47th GRAMMY Awards, followed by Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal the following year for "This Love." At the 50th GRAMMY Awards, "Makes Me Wonder" brought them their third for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. But those are just several of many reasons you might feel you need gear like this.

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St. Vincent

St. Vincent

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St. Vincent Remix Of Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" Puts Cardi B On Top

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"Stop!" and listen to how St. Vincent has Cardi B remixing the rhythm in complete command
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Aug 2, 2018 - 1:25 pm

A model of making her art her own way, St. Vincent and her 2017 album Masseduction have been seizing well-deserved attention. It's the follow up to her self-titled LP in 2014, which won Best Alternative Music Album at the 57th GRAMMY Awards. Now she's followed up on Maroon 5's star-studded remix of their own "Girls Like You" single, featuring Cardi B, with an appealing and punchy dance rethink.

Using samples from J Dilla, St. Vincent makes liberal use of Cardi B's attention-grabbing power, jumping into her rap at the top, making everything "Stop!" at her command, and closing the song on the same instruction. If you enjoy having your head rhythmically messed with half as much as St. Vincent says she had fun making this remix, "dancing alone in my studio," the track is an upbeat pleasure. GRAMMY-winning engineer Laura Sisk handled the mix.

St. Vincent was one of the powerful musical performances last weekend at Newport Folk Fest and we'll be reporting on her show and many others this weekend in Chicago at Lollapalooza. Masseduction reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 last year, her highest ranking to date. Its single "Los Ageless" reached No. 23 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart in March 2018.

After Lollapalooza, St. Vincent's tour dates take her overseas for the remainder of August, but she returns in September with festival engagements and west coast performances supporting Florence + The Machine and Lizzo.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Moby

Moby

Photo: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic

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Moby To Auction His Entire Vinyl Collection To Benefit Medical Research

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"Everybody wins ... except me, because now I don't have any records," said the famous DJ
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Jun 12, 2018 - 3:53 pm

On June 12, GRAMMY nominee Moby announced on his blog that he will be selling "his entire vinyl collection on Reverb with the proceeds going to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine." Doors open online on June 14 for The Official Moby Reverb LP Shop, featuring a boggling selection of rarities and must-haves. He had previously auctioned off gear and guitars this past April on Reverb.

"These are all the records that I bought and loved and played and carried all around the world," Moby said. "I would rather you have them than me, because if you have them, you'll play them, you'll love them, and the money will go to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. So everybody wins. Well, except me, because now I don't have any records."

Many of the records include handwritten marks Moby would make, assisting his using them during live DJ sets.

The Physicians Committee pursues a revolution in medicine by placing greater importance on prevention and treatment research, such as approaches integrating nutrition and education. It also seeks to reduce and find alternatives to animal experimentation, no doubt hitting vegan Moby's animal-rights nerve, a passion of his for years.

In addition to his many GRAMMY nominations and a career as one of music's most influential DJ/producers, Moby is also on the charts right now because "Porcelain" from his 1999 album Play was sampled by ASAP Rocky on "A$AP Forever," giving Moby credit as featured artist. So in addition to Moby's new album Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt, which came out this March, he is on Billboard's Hot 100 for June 9 at No. 63, his second time on the chart. His first time was in 2001 for "South Side" featuring Gwen Stefani, which reached No. 14.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Bobbie Gentry

Bobbie Gentry

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Lady Legends And Newcomers Join Mercury Rev On Bobbie Gentry Tribute Album

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Mercury Rev revisits Gentry's classic sophomore album with female guest vocalists who shine. Catch the album out Feb. 8
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Nov 14, 2018 - 4:34 pm

Indie band Mercury Rev have announced their next album, a tribute to Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited, will be available on Feb. 8.

The album features an array of guest voices. Mercury Rev's incredible selection of guest vocalists on the tracks kicks off with Norah Jones performing "Okolona River Bottom Band." Others lending their voices to the effort are Phoebe Bridgers, Vashti Bunyan, Rachel Goswell, Marissa Nadler, Beth Orton, Lætitia Sadier, Hope Sandoval, Kaela Sinclair, Susanne Sundfør, Carice van Houten, and Lucinda Williams, whose rendition of "Ode To Billie Joe" was added to the original album's tracklist.

"Bobbie is iconic, original, eloquent and timeless," said singer Margo Price, whose guest vocals are featured on "Sermon." "She has remained a strong voice and an eternal spirit of the delta, wrapped in mystery, yet forever here."

The Delta Sweete was Gentry's 1968 follow up to her debut Ode To Billie Joe, for which she won three GRAMMYs at the 10th GRAMMY Awards.

For the full track list and additional details see Bella Union's announcement and Pitchfork. Mercury Rev recently concluded their 2018 U.S. tour and will be playing across Britain in Dec.

Lucinda Williams Plots 'Car Wheels On A Gravel Road' 20th Anniversary Tour

Monsta X

Monsta X

Photo: Courtesy of Starship Entertainment

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Keeping K-Pop Competitive: The Continued Success Of Monsta X

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As the K-Pop group's latest single, "Shoot Out," tells a dark tale of toxic romance, Monsta X keep up the pressure for American audiences to fall in love with K-pop
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Nov 14, 2018 - 3:24 pm

With charm, swagger and style of their own, Monsta X toured the U.S. summer 2018, is returning to tour the U.S., and their latest release, Take.1:Are You There?, reached No. 24 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart for Nov. 3, 2018. Showing why there is room for more than BTS in American audiences' discovery of Korean pop music, Monsta X is also on main stage closing out shows for five stops on the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball tour, Nov. 30 through Dec. 5.

For the first time in the band's very bilingual history, a version of their lead single "Shoot Out" has also been released completely in English. To separate the commercial competition from the cultural contributions of many K-pop artists, the fun they have with the English lyrics also has a fresh style all their own. The K-Pop wave reflects America back at us in its art, fusing its own aesthetic with the influence of U.S. music and culture as a growing number of Korean artists deliver pop songs that earn a loyal American following.

A rave review of their Los Angeles show in Orange County's OC Weekly from Aug. 2018 praised their sexiness and even greatness. Their summer U.S. tour was called "The Connect," emphasizing the group's connection to the diversity of their fans, an enthusiastic and growing base. As evidence of the success and resonance of their music and message, those U.S. dates all sold out.

On Nov. 30 in Los Angeles, Monsta X will be closing the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball on the main stage, the first K-pop group to perform at a Jingle Ball. Their English-only version of "Shoot Out" describing a toxic love promises to convert new audiences to Korean pop as they continue the tour to San Francisco on Dec. 1, Minneapolis on Dec. 3, Boston on Dec. 4, and finally Philadelphia on Dec. 5.

As performers, Monsta X is not a substitute or an alternative for other bands — they succeed at doing their own thing. The mounting following for Korean pop and other cross-Pacific pop music in the U.S. is being won over by recordings and performances, and Monsta X has not let up.

Monsta X Bring The Beat With "Jealousy," Plan U.S. Summer Tour