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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Published: 29 November 2010
U.S. & CANADA DATES ADDED TO CLAPTON'S 2011 SCHEDULE! Directly on the heels of Eric Clapton’s recent new album released to strong critical acclaim, the artist announced initial dates for his 2011 touring that will encompass the West Coast of the U.S. in the Spring to be followed by a run of shows in Ireland and the U.K. in May 2011.
Critics have been raving about the latest Clapton album as a new and inspiring body of work by one of the world’s most legendary guitar players. Co-produced by guitarist and long-time collaborator Doyle Bramhall II, the album features an all star cast of musical collaborations starting with the legendary JJ Cale, drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Willie Weeks, and keyboardist Walt Richmond—and the sessions later added guests including Steve Winwood, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Allen Toussaint, and Derek Trucks. Clapton created a collection that touches on everything from century-old traditional brass bands to little-known country blues to brand-new originals. The result is both relaxed and revelatory, and unlike anything the guitarist has done in his legendary career.
Clapton has assembled an impressive band for the 2011 tour which will consist of long-time touring partners: Steve Gadd (drums), Willie Weeks (bass), Chris Stainton (keyboards) along with Michelle John and Sharon White as backing vocalists.
Ticket On-Sale Information -- Check local ticket agencies for availability and pricing
CURRENT LIST OF TOUR DATES
FEBRUARY 2011
Friday, Feb 25 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Saturday, Feb 26 Seattle, WA Key Arena
Monday, Feb 28 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
MARCH 2011
Wednesday, March 2 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
Thursday, March 3 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena
Saturday, March 5 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sunday, March 6 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center
Tuesday, March 8 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater at Universal CityWalk
Wednesday, March 9 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater at Universal CityWalk
Previously Announced International Dates
FEBRUARY 2011
Monday, Feb 14 Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium
Friday, Feb 18 Hong Kong, China Hong Kong Asia World Arena
MAY 2011
Monday, May 9 Dublin
Tuesday, May 10 Belfast
Thursday, May 12th Glasgow SECC
Saturday, May 14th Cardiff International Arena
Royal Albert Hall
May 17, May 18, May 20, May 21, May 23, May 24, May 26, May 27, May 29, May 30
JUNE 2011
Monday, June 6 Helsinki, Finland Hartwall Arena
Wednesday, June 8 Stockholm, Sweden Ericsson Globe
Thursday, June 9 Oslo, Norway Norwegian Wood Festival
Saturday, June 11 Herning, Denmark Jyske Bank Boxen
source:whereseric.com/ericclapton.com
In a luxury suite far above the court, the man with the familiar incandescent smile and the endearing straight-from-the-belly laugh once again was directing traffic and commanding the room.
Here, this is how we should pose. You guys over there, give your camera to somebody and come on up. Let’s keep it moving.
Isn’t that how it should be: Old point guards don’t die, they just find a new stage.
Except that Earvin “Magic” Johnson was supposed to die. That’s what he thought, that’s what everyone who was reached by the world of basketball thought nearly 20 years ago when Johnson announced he was HIV positive.
A young boy in Spain was no different than many here.
“I was 11 years old at the time,” said Pau Gasol, the Lakers forward who grew up in Barcelona. “It had a huge impact on me. At the time, all I knew about AIDS was that it equaled death. One of the best players in the history of the sport that I loved was going to die. That’s what I thought.”
But here was Johnson on Sunday night, shaking hands and posing for pictures, looking and sounding as vibrant and full of life as in the days when he and Larry Bird carried a league to relevance on the sheer force of their personalities.
Nowadays, the well-wishers often do not look up to Johnson because of anything he did on a basketball court. Typically, it is because of his efforts as a businessman, investing in African-American communities, or his work raising awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
Sunday's reception was sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which presented Johnson with its inaugural “World AIDS Day Magic Award.” World AIDS Day is Wednesday.
“Who would ever have thought that somebody would admire you and it’s not about basketball,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I haven’t played in 15 to 20 years and now when people come up to me it’s never about basketball. I guess I’ve turned the page on another chapter in my life.”
It began when Johnson met Elizabeth Glaser, the wife of actor Paul Michael Glaser and an early AIDS advocate who was dying of the disease, shortly after his announcement in November 1991. Glaser begged Johnson to become the face of the disease.
Johnson not only became a spokesman for treatment of the disease, he also founded the Magic Johnson Foundation, which has worked to promote more testing and give minority communities better access to treatment. Johnson has lent his name to five clinics that AHF has opened around the country in mostly African-American communities.
In recent years, Johnson has been criticized by some AIDS activists for not making his presence felt as strongly as he once did. He sounded willing to do so Sunday.
“We will continue to fight,” Johnson told the crowd of about 50. “We still get discriminated against, especially if you’re black and brown. But we’re in it until the end. Hopefully one day there will be a cure and we don’t have to worry.”
HIV/AIDS has hit blacks disproportionately hard. They account for more than half of new cases, according to Michael Weinstein, the president of AHF, and too often they are in the later stages of the disease, making the outcome grim.
“A lot of people can’t afford to buy their drugs or leave their community to go get tested or get the proper health care,” Johnson said. “We have to educate people, especially in the black and brown community. That’s been my focus through the last 10 years, through the churches, through the schools and through the colleges as well. The numbers are too high. When you think about the new cases, more than 50 percent are African-American. We’ve got to bring those numbers down and work on the stigma as well, (plus) the it-can’t-happen-to-me (perception).”
The message he wants to get out on World AIDS Day is to get tested and get informed in what is an evolving battle. Johnson noted that when he announced he was HIV positive, there was one available drug, AZT, for treatment. Now there are 30.
“A lot has changed,” he said.
Including the NBA’s involvement. When Johnson made a brief return from retirement after revealing he was HIV positive, Karl Malone, then one of the league’s star players, said he feared being infected by Johnson. Others also expressed concern, more quietly, in what became a white-hot topic.
Now the NBA meets with each team during training camp to discuss HIV and AIDS, and has sponsored a “Get Tested” campaign. Johnson was joined at a clinic opening in North Miami Beach by Alonzo Mourning and taped a public service announcement with Yao Ming for broadcast in China. Gasol has traveled to Angola and South Africa to promote AIDS awareness, an interest he relates to Johnson’s announcement.
The importance of the athletes’ involvement cannot be understated, but it is Johnson who can carry a torch.
“He’s the ultimate symbol of living well,” Weinstein said, noting that the more people who see Johnson living well and beyond expectations, the more it might spur them to get tested, to get treatment or to get educated.
And for those who do, it will bring an air of satisfaction to Johnson, the kind of feeling an old point guard can take great pleasure from — a most meaningful assist.
source:foxsports.com/Billy Witz
It was nine years ago today that former Beatle George Harrison passed away from cancer on November 29, 2001. While many Beatles fans will gather at George Harrison's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to pay tribute, there is a quieter, more fitting place to remember the 'quiet' Beatle. Way up in the hills of Griffith Park in Los Angeles sits the George Harrison Tree, a Cayman Island Pine planted seven years ago in tribute to the ex-Beatle who prided himself as a gardener.
The George Harrison tree was planted on the opposite end of the parking lot from the Griffith Park Observatory at the Mount Hollywood Hiking Trail. The tree was planted in February 2003 and the following year, on February 22, 2004, a dedication ceremony to unveil a special bronze plaque was held, as the city declared "George Harrison Day" that year in Los Angeles.
At the 2004 dedication ceremony, friends and associates gathered to pay tribute to Harrison including the late singer Billy Preston, singer Jackie Lomax, Council member Tom LaBonge, Chris Carter, host of LA's "Breakfast with the Beatles" and Linda Arias, Olivia Harrison's sister, who read a message sent by Olivia thanking everyone for remembering her husband George.
The bronze plaque placed in front of the George Harrison Tree features a lotus flower and reads: "In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener," followed by a quote from George Harrison: 'For the forest to be green, each tree must be green.' George Harrison (1943-2001)
Beatles fans, Pat Tyson and Susan Hancock, who attended the dedication ceremony back in 2004 said that on that cloudy day, as soon as the plaque was unveiled, the sun magically came out, giving special meaning to Harrison's popular song, "Here Comes the Sun." In seven years, the tree, which sits at the base of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, has grown from the original 3 feet to over 10 feet now.
source:examiner.com/Trina Yannicos
By Jeff Sneider
Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks has officially signed on to star in Kathryn Bigelow's "Triple Frontier," producer Charles Roven has told Coming Soon.
Written by Bigelow's "Hurt Locker" screenwriter Mark Boal, the project is an ensemble-driven film set in the crime-plagued border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, where the Igazu and Parana rivers converge. Law enforcement officials have a difficult time monitoring "la triple frontier," which makes the area a haven for organized crime.
The gritty project isn't typical Hanks fare, but neither was Sam Mendes' "Road to Perdition," and that 2002 crime drama earned six Oscar nominations and showcased a darker side of Hanks that the actor rarely has the opportunity to project on the big screen.
Roven said that despite reports, other actors have yet to commit to join Hanks in the project, which is aiming to start production in mid-March. By that point, Hanks will have finished post-production on "Larry Crowne," which he directed and stars in opposite Julia Roberts.
Hanks' fellow Academy Award winners Sean Penn and Javier Bardem have also been rumored for roles in "Triple Frontier," along with Oscar nominee Will Smith and Christian Bale, who is expected to earn his first Oscar nomination for his devastating performance as a former boxer-turned-crackhead in "The Fighter."
"Triple Frontier" has also been referred to as "Sleeping Dogs," and while the title hasn't been set in stone, Roven apparently referred to the film by the former title.
Hanks is represented by CAA.
source:thewrap.com
