Thursday, April 10, 2008

Dave Stewart's Rock Fabulous Orchestra

From a press release:
One of the most prolific artists in the past two decades, Dave Stewart, will embark on a full-scale North American tour this August. Billed as Dave Stewart and His 30-Piece Rock Fabulous Orchestra the show will include songs from Stewart's vast catalog of classic hits performed in one-of-a-kind arrangements. In addition to smash-hits from Eurythmics such as "Sweet Dreams" and "Here Comes the Rain Again," the songbook includes timeless tracks penned by Stewart including Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More," No Doubt's "Underneath It All," Mick Jagger's Golden Globe-winning "Old Habits Die Hard" and Celine Dion's recent chart-topper "Taking Chances," only to name a few.

"This isn't so much a look back but a new beginning," said Stewart. "When stuff has been put away for a while and you dust it off, you often see something you've never seen before. And before you know it, you're on the road with a 30-piece orchestra!" I have a great band as well as an orchestra and some amazing female voices to sing with me.

In August, Stewart's company Weapons of Mass Entertainment and Surfdog Records will be releasing an album consisting of new fresh rejuvenated versions of his most celebrated material with the full orchestra. The aptly titled "Dave Stewart Songbook, Vol. 1" will be accompanied by a hard-cover, glossy book of the same title. The book will include a chapter dedicated to each song with the story behind the music and stunning photos of his collaborators during the recording sessions, most of which were taken by Stewart himself.

Beyond his music legacy, Stewart and his company Weapons of Mass Entertainment have been at the forefront of innovation linking creative ideas to a host of projects in film, television, books theatre and new media. Stewart was recently hired as a consultant for Nokia, the world's largest cellphone company, where he was given the unique title of "Change Agent," charged with ensuring the artists' point of view is represented in the "new world" and creating new content business paradigms for the entertainment industry. A recent Washington Post article hailed Stewart's innovation in this arena, calling him "a man who vows to drop a 'neutron bomb' on the current entertainment distribution model."

Stewart is described by Bob Dylan as "a fearless innovator" and he has built up a repertoire of remarkable songs that have been performed by some of the most influential musicians of our time. In 1999, Dave Stewart along with his Eurythmics partner, Annie Lennox, were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brit Awards after having sold over 75 million albums.
Is Dave Stewart Advanced? All I know is that is stock is rising.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am definately going to one of these concerts. I think Dave Stewart is a great muscian and songwriter.

JW said...

http://www.dlisted.com/node/25183