all that's sacred #64

It’s been pretty busy with the new job so I recruited some help hosting this week’s episode from an old friend of the band. If you’re a newbie, it might require a bit of an explanation but I hope you all will ultimately be more amused than annoyed. :)

ATS #64 is comprised almost entirely of miscellaneous email and vmail listener requests. I really appreciate all the continued correspondence and support. I wish I could stay more engaged in responding to everyone in a timely manner. Please know that I receive and read and hear everything and that it’s all absolutely vital to the success of the podcast. Many, many thanks.

If you’re down south this weekend, I’d be sure to be in Little Rock for a special night with EV and friends benefitting the WM3. If you’re in my neighborhood next week, hope to see y’all at the Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf on 9/2. And according to Stone in Billboard, this year’s Bridge School Benefit is going to double as the band’s 20th anniversary celebration. Hail hail the lucky ones, indeed. Be sure to check with the folks at the Wishlist Foundation for deets on any pre-party fundraisers for all these gigs.

Hope you all are well and hope you dig the great musical moments on ATS #64.

Cheers! Donny

all that's sacred #63

It’s another slow PJ news week… I think the only things worth noting are actually happening today. First, the tickets for the 8/28 Voices For Justice show benefiting the WM3 in Little Rock, AR and featuring Eddie Vedder are going on sale today at 9AM CDT. Later tonight in LA, Mike McCready will be sitting in with Star Anna during her show at Spaceland. And don’t forget, Mike and Star and friends will be playing the Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf on 9/2 at Seattle’s Moore Theater.

New albums are here! Brad’s new record dropped last week. Check out my review of the LP and their recent in-store performance at Easy Street Records’ Queen Anne location. They’ll be back onstage opening a few midwest dates for Band Of Horses later in October. Also, the mighty Jack Irons has a new solo album landing on 8/24 and should be available through Ten Club.

Today on ATS #63 we are exploring another theme that was suggested a long, long time ago – a song’s maiden voyage. It’s a cool moment when a new song sets sail for the first time in front of a live audience. The song selection is a nice, varied sampling and spans the band’s entire history. We even manage to play a few songs that have never even been featured on the podcast. It’s hard to believe after all these episodes, but there are still a handful of songs that have never been played on ATS.

In other ATS news, I think we are going to try and go back to a weekly show. I talk about it more on the podcast but the bottom line is I miss doing it weekly. Plus, I got a new job recently and that should make it easier to schedule since I’m no longer on the hunt for new employment. So we’re going to give it a go. I also want to give a huge shout-out to listener Igor Gruda for designing a badass new ATS logo for the Facebook and Twitter sites. Thank you, Igor!

Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy this week’s show.

Cheers! Donny

all that's sacred #62

As promised, ATS #62 returns for a bonus off-week episode featuring nothing but Pearl Jam tunes! I dug deep into the mailbag of unexplored listener suggestions and decided to highlight alternate versions of songs throughout the years. We’ve spotlighted some of these reinterpretations before but this is the first time we’ve dedicated an entire podcast to them. There is some great stuff here and it’s fun to listen and compare to the official releases.

As always, thanks for listening and thanks for all the great participation. I really appreciate everyone tuning in and all the continued correspondence and encouragement. It was fun to return to our ATS roots and bust out a themed show for the first time in a while. I hope you dig it!

Cheers! Donny

all that's sacred #61

Despite the guys taking some time off, there is still a lot happening with upcoming Soundgarden, Brad, Deranged Diction, and Hootenanny gigs. I figured this down time afforded us the perfect opportunity to reconnect with original Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen and continue the conversation started on ATS #59. Dave himself has been keeping busy and will be playing his first gig in 9 years tonight with Unified Theory at the King King Hollywood. If you are lucky enough to be local for any of these shows, I would strongly encourage you to check them out.

As a result of all this side project activity, ATS #61 is a bit light on the PJ tunes as we dive into some music that is a step or two removed from the band. Rest assured though, we will be back next week with a bonus off-week traditional themed ATS podcast featuring nothing but Pearl Jam.

Thanks for always tuning in and hope you enjoy #61.

Cheers! Donny