By John M. James

Never underestimate the value of your fan base. Two bands from the UK are taking a unique stance on the production of their new albums, with their fans directly involved in footing the bill. Fans of Marillion set the stage for things to come back in 1997, when the Marillion fan base was informed that a proposed North American tour wasn't financially feasible. Unknown to the band, these fans raised more that $75,000 dollars to bring the band here to the States. Now powered by the fan-friendly Internet, Marillion has gone to the mountain again and asked fans to buy their new record in advance. Amazing in its new model efficiency, within three weeks more than $175,000 was raised to finance the recording of their new album, Anoraknophobia. This nifty arrangement keeps the record company's "advance money" out of the loop and allows the band to retain the rights to the material. This new album, their 12th studio set in almost 20 years, is available on store shelves now bearing the Sanctuary imprint. Also getting into the fan finance route is Shriekback, the highly influential British art school AltFunk band that features former members of XTC and Gang of Four. Their official Web site has its hat out, asking for a $50 pre-order of the album to fund their own independent recording of a new reunion album outside the traditional involvement of a record label. In the end, the pre-ordering fan will receive an autographed copy of the CD and will be personally mentioned in the album sleeve. ... On Tuesday the Koch records label is issuing a new collection from Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band entitled The Anthology So Far, and featuring guests Dr. John, Joe Walsh, Jack Bruce, Todd Rundgren, Dave Edmunds and more. Look for Starr to take his big band on the road this summer featuring Greg Lake of ELP, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp, Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople, Howard Jones and Shelia E. ... Tortoise has just released a love letter to its fans who missed their recent American tour. Originally only available at their shows, the band has just issued a new CD EP on the Thrill Jockey label, only to be found on Mom n' Pop record retail counters. The limited-edition CD, Gently Cupping the Chin of the Ape, features two new songs, a CD-ROM video of the single "Seneca," and other live and rehearsal video footage. ... A wet dream of stellar bass guitar giants have converged on the recording of the upcoming Gov't Mule album as Warren Haynes and Matt Abts have assembled an insanely impressive list of guest bass talent. Nineteen tracks have been recorded so far, featuring Les Claypool of Primus, Tony Levin of King Crimson, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, Jack Bruce of Cream, Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone, Chris Wood of Medeski Martin & Wood, Mike Watt of the Minutemen, Chris Squire of Yes, Bootsy Collins of p Funk, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, John Entwistle of The Who, Mike Gordon of Phish, Roger Glover of Deep Purple and Me'shell Ndegeocello.

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes City High on Friday, Deftones on Monday and Train on Tuesday. The Late Show with David Letterman hosts David Gray on Thursday, Green Day on Friday, Jonatha Brooke & The Story on Monday and Travis on Tuesday.

Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change ... 59 Times the Pain - Calling the Public (Epitaph); Jann Arden - Blood Red Cherry (Zoe/Rounder) new from the Canadian singer songwriter; Randall Bramblett - No More Mr. Lucky (New West) Athens, Georgia singer songwriter formerly of Sea Level; Michelle Branch - The Spirit Room (Maverick) debut from this 17-year-old; The Business - No Mercy For You (Burning Heart/Epitaph) see them live this summer on the Warped and the Spirit of the Street tours; Darkest Hour - So Sedated (Victory); Dimitri From Paris - Monsieur Dimitri's De-Luxe House Of Funk (Razor & Tie); Gordon Downie - Coke Machine Flow (Zoe/Rounder) solo album from the lead singer of The Tragically Hip; Dream Street - Dream Street (Edel America) new young teen sensation; Dry Kill Logic - The Darker Side of Nonsense (Roadrunner) formerly known as Hinge; Melissa Etheridge ­ Skin (Island) with guests Laura Dern and Meg Ryan on "Heal Me"; Faithless ­ Outrospective (Arista) with guest Dido; Fatboy Slim - A Break From the Norm (Restless) compilation of sampled material; Firewater ­ Psychopharmacology (Jetset); Paula Frazer - Indoor Universe (Birdman) new from the angelic vocalist of Tarnation; Gangsta Boo - Both Worlds: 69 (Loud); Good Riddance - Symptoms Of a Leveling Spirit (Fat Wreck Chords) with new drummer Dave Wagenschutz of Lifetime; David Gray - Flesh, A Century Ends, and The EP 92-94 (Caroline) long out-of print reissues from the early 1990's and a new EP collection; Ivy - Long Distance (Nettwerk) featuring Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha; Krystal - Me & My Piano (Geffen) with guests Kevin and Howie of the Backstreet Boys; Legally Blonde - original motion picture soundtrack (A&M;) with Hoku, Black Eyed Peas and Lisa Loeb; Love Seed Mama Jump - Love Seed Mama Jump (Plump/Artemis); Made - original motion picture soundtrack (Artisan/Redline) with music from Dean Martin, Monster Magnet, De La Soul, Nightmares On Wax and Tribe Called Quest; Moke ­ Carnival (Ultimatum/Artemis); Thelonious Monk - Live At the Jazz Workshop: Complete (Columbia Legacy) two-CD set with lots of bonus material; OC - Bon Appetit (Jcor); Robert Pollard and the Soft Rock Renegades - Choreographed Man Of War (Recordhead) new from the Guided By Voices commander; Spike Priggen - The Very Thing That You Treasure (Volare); Smartbomb - Yeah, Well Already (Razor & Tie); Sole - Fly Away (Dreamworks); Thumb ­ 3 (Victory) German Hard Rock with a Hip Hop edge; Tricky ­ Blowback (Hollywood) featuring guests Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cyndi Lauper, Alanis Morissette and Ed Kowalczyk of Live; berzone - Faith In the Future (Astralwerks) new from American breaks producer Q; Various Artists - Freedom: A Tribute To Rage Against the Machine (Vitamin) an interesting variety of interpretive styles from acoustic crooning to Electronica; Various Artists - Punta Del Este Sunset (Ark 21) featuring tracks from the Beta Band and Luscious Jackson; The Wheel Of Time - A Soundtrack (Magna Carta) performed, produced and written by Robert Berry to accompany the fantasy novel series; Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Boot Heel Drag: The MGM Years (Mercury) 50 tracks over two-CDs; Youngstown - Down For The Get Down (Hollywood).

E-mail John M. James

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