Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Seattle Times: New DVD Chronicles Heart Concert in Seattle

Nancy and Ann Wilson are two of Seattle's most famous names. Making up the rock band Heart, they've sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.

Last March, the sisters — now 56 and 60, respectively — filmed an upcoming DVD, "Heart: Night at Sky Church" in Seattle. There's a free showing of the film Friday night at Experience Music Project |Science Fiction Museum.

The March concert was an intimate glimpse of the popular '70s rock group, which played new songs from the album "Red Velvet Car" (due out Tuesday) and old hits, like "Crazy on You." Alison Krauss joined in as guest artist on the mike and fiddle.

Nancy Wilson spoke recently by phone from Albuquerque about the DVD and the rock scene today.

Q: What was it like playing to a hometown crowd?

A: It's always really fun to play in Seattle. We love our own hometown so much. ... Ann is living in Seattle all the time and I still have a place in Seattle. I have to spend a lot of time in L.A., but I always get to Seattle whenever I can.

Q: Why did it take six years for this new album?

A: We've been pretty busy being moms. ... Ann did a solo album since "Jupiters Darling," called "Hope & Glory." ... Plus, we did a children's book for the anniversary of "Dog & Butterfly" and another version of "Dog & Butterfly" for Amazon.

Q: What is the new album like?

A: It's very hard rock acoustic — that's something Heart does that you don't really find elsewhere very much. ... It's not a digitally constructed sound at all, or a layered sound. It's a very on-the-spot, human conversational sound.

Q: Over the years, have you seen more women enter the business?

A: There are more women that are successful in pop culture, but as far as rock 'n' roll is concerned, I don't really see any. ... When you see Lady Gaga, it's unbelievable to see what she's done with her image. I know she's quite talented, too, but it's the image that makes you notice, more than what she sounds like. It's like, wow, is that what it takes anymore?

Q: How do you and Ann get along?

A: Our relationship is really strong. We tour together through the summer. We work on songs together. ... The kids come out with us on the tour. We're really a family business.

Q: How do you two stay friends?

A: We are rare that way. We're a military family ... being shuttled around from base to base. We still feel like we have our little fighting unit out here, but instead of guns, we have guitars ... spreading the good word with our music, town to town.


Source

ShopNBC Videos and Info!

When you buy your copy of Red Velvet Car off of ShopNBC you get a bonus 2010 tour shirt and 5 track Greatest Hits collection! Check it out! Way cool :D
























Also check out their main Heart page here for another brand new picture. So beautiful!

Here's two videos featured on ShopNBC's YouTube channel. For those not wanting to hear any new song clips, steer clear. I had to watch them on mute and read lips to get the info. 6 more days! We can hold out :D



Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Ann and Nancy in Parade Magazine!

There will be an interview with Ann and Nancy in the September 19th issue of Parade! :D

Part 2 of the Red Velvet Car Podcast!

Click here to check out Part 2 of the RVC Legacy Podcast. Click here for Part 1. Really great stuff here guys! :D

Monday, August 23, 2010

Ann and Nancy on Off the Record!

Sunday August 29th: OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Heart as well as Joe's brand new conversation with Ann and Nancy Wilson. YAY! :D


For when and where you can catch Ann and Nancy's Off the Record interview please see the source link and check out the list of all the stations carrying this show :)


Heart in USA Today!

Check out the 8/25 issues of USA Today for what we believe will be a cover feature on Heart! :D

Contest! Win a Seat at the Taping of the Jimmy Fallon Show

Attention all fans of Heart:

On September 2nd, 2010 Heart will be performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Here is where you come in…

How would you like a chance to be close to Heart’s performance on the show?

Click on the link below and you will be directed to their “Band Bench” Sweepstakes entry form. Enter for a chance to win seats on the band benches and an opportunity to surround the stage during Heart’s performance.

Please make sure you include the following band code: HRT, in your entry form.

http://www.fallonbandbench.com/

Heart's TV Schedule 8/25-9/16

The Joy Behar Show - CNN Headline News (CNN) August 25 - 9pm EST CNN Appearing (Interview)

HEART Night At Sky Church (Palladia) August 27 - 9pm EST Palladia Broadcast

HEART Night At Sky Church (Palladia) August 28 - 8pm EST Palladia Broadcast

Shop NBC Performance & Presale August 29 - 1pm CT / 2pm EST Shop NBC Live 1hr performance, discussion, and presale on Shop NBC (home shopping network)

VH1 News Piece August 30 to September 6 VH1 / VH1 Classics :90 news piece running on VH1 / VH1 Classics release week

HEART Night At Sky Church (Palladia) August 31 - 12:30am EST Palladia Broadcast

The Today Show (NBC) August 31 - 10am EST hour NBC Appearing (Interview)

Fox Network News (FOX) August 31 (week of) FOX Appearing

CNN News August 31 (week of) CNN Album review and artist Q&A

Fox and Friends (FOX) September 1 - 8:30-9am EST FOX Performing

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) September 2 - 12:35pm EST NBC Performing

NPR: Weekend Edition September 4 NPR

HEART Night At Sky Church (Palladia) September 4 - 8am EST Palladia Broadcast

HEART Night At Sky Church (Palladia) September 10 - 11am EST Palladia Broadcast

Stand Up To Cancer (All networks) September 10 - 8pm EST (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN, etc) NATIONAL live telecast benefit concert

HEART Night At Sky Church (VH1 Classic) September 11 - 9pm EST & Midnight EST VH1 Classic Broadcast

HEART Night At Sky Church (VH1 Classic) September 13 - 1pm EST VH1 Classic Broadcast

HEART Night At Sky Church (VH1 Classic) September 14 - 2am EST VH1 Classic Broadcast

HEART Night At Sky Church (VH1 Classic) September 16 - 8pm EST VH1 Classic Broadcast

Soundspike Q&A: Nancy Wilson of Heart

With a new generation being introduced to Heart annually thanks to the inevitable performance of "Alone" by "American Idol" contestants, the Wilson sisters are enjoying their popularity.

While packing theaters and amphitheaters around the U.S., Heart is now introducing fans to new music courtesy of "Red Velvet Car," a collection of songs due out Aug. 31. It is the band's first new studio album in six years.

"We're real excited," guitarist/singer Nancy Wilson said during an interview with SoundSpike. "We've been setting it up since we finished it, really. It's getting close to the time -- as they say -- it'll 'drop.' [Laughs] It'll drop. It sounds like somebody comes out of the sky and crashed into the Earth."

Wilson, who is joined in the band by singer Ann Wilson, spoke to SoundSpike about "Red Velvet Car," working with producer Ben Mink and the unique sounds of acoustic instruments.

SoundSpike: The shows are getting great reviews. You must be very pleased.

Nancy Wilson: I've seen a couple of really good ones. I'm very happy about that. It's nice when you work this hard and [are] acknowledged for it.

On Aug. 31, you're releasing the album "Red Velvet Car." What can you tell me about it?

In many ways, we're so happy and proud of the album. In some ways, we don't want it to drop. It's almost like having a baby: "OK then the real scary stuff starts." The baby comes into the world and some people don't think it's adorable. Hopefully most people will.

Did you record this album any differently than you have your past records?

Yeah, we worked with Ben Mink, who's an amazing producer from Vancouver, BC, who we'd always hoped to get together for Heart. I think his direction was exactly where we wanted to go. He took us back in a way, back to an updated -- but yet more original -- Heart sound. It sort of comes from the acoustic guitar as a rock 'n' roll instrument. It's hard-rock acoustic. It's a little different.

Did you decide before you recorded the album that that was what you were going to do, or did it come out that way organically?

We had a powwow. We talked about the direction and the sound and the ethic that we wanted on the album. That's what Ben Mink does best, and his partner David Leonard, who's actually out of Nashville. They record acoustic instruments, kind of like that T-Bone Burnett thing where you really hear the wood and you really hear the humanity of acoustic instruments, which is unusual. You get all the passion of the acoustic instruments. That's where we started, the sound we wanted to start with, as well as the performance aspect where you're playing at the same time, in the same room with people looking at each other. That's part of the sound too. That's not stuff that's layered on in a computer. It's very, very real.

Why was now the time for this project?

Well, the last studio album Heart did was about five-and-a-half, six years ago. Ann did the solo album since then with Ben Mink called "Hope and Glory." You know, we've been out working on summer tours every summer to keep the rent paid. It's what we do. I think we need to be songwriters and we need to be current with our creative juices in order to feel vital. So we wrote the songs and we wrote another album because it's what we need to do. It's what we're put here to do. It's what we love to do. It makes no financial sense to do it because we do it all out of pocket. It's not set up anymore the way it used to be, where you have a record company that's there to develop you and support you. We had to do it on our own and hopefully gain the interest of somebody like Sony, who we're lucky to be with.

How many new songs are you playing live?

Depending on the situation, we're playing, like, three of the new songs live right now. The DVD, though, we have a couple more.

How's the reaction been to the new songs?

It's actually been amazing. The new songs, it's hard to get people to sit still for that because it's not familiar. But they have been really responsive to the new songs. I think particularly because they sound familiar in a way because they sound very much like Heart. The people who come to our shows are coming to see us. I think they recognize the character of the new songs and accept them really readily. I'm very excited about that. If I go to a rock show, somebody I love, and they play a new song, I'm kind of like, "Oh great. What's that going to be like?" You go to see your favorite rock performer do stuff you recognize, when you hear some new stuff and you like it, it's really a treat.

Your music has really stood the test of time. I think part of it is due to soundtracks, as well as "Guitar Hero."

And "American Idol" has something to do with that. "Alone," everybody does "Alone" on "American Idol." People probably don't remember as well that we originally did that song. A lot of other people have been doing it since. When the songs can withstand the test of time like that and keep re-emerging in the culture somehow, and they connect the dots between us and the new generation and the older generations, it's really exciting. That's the coolest thing of all. Being a mom now, I have two twin 10-year-old boys. They are the future. They come to my rock shows and see Auntie Ann and their mom up there rockin' on stage. They really like the new stuff too.

What song still thrills you to play?

I have a lot of thrills playing a lot of these songs. "Barracuda" is always really fun. It's a big rocker. Right now for the ballad we're having a big resurgence with a new version of "Dog and Butterfly" that we put together with a new sort of arrangement. "Alone" is one of those, too. We've reinterpreted it to a more acoustic arrangement. It's very fun to play.

Nancy Mentioned in a Jerry Cantrell Interview

I’m an intense person, and when I get into something, I go full into it, but for some reason I never really got into collecting guitars or gear, so I always have to borrow stuff [Laughs]. I used some cool guitars from Nancy Wilson, she’s always loaning me shit. She’s got a ton of great stuff. I recorded with one of her Les Paul juniors and some of her acoustics.

If you're an Alice in Chains fan I recommend this interview. It was a really great read :)


Source

New MP3s of the Week

Please see the right hand navigation area for 2 new MP3s of the Week. This is Lovemongers love week! And what better way to showcase that but two gems from the Backstage Tavern show from 1992. Nancy singing a song written about Ann (Girl With Notebook) and Ann singing a song written about Nancy (Walking Backwards). How cute is that? :D

Wonderful Q&A with Ann!

Really great interview with Ann. Love how she describes her relationship with Nancy! :D


Heart is releasing their next studio album, Red Velvet Car on August 31. We recently sat down with Ann Wilson, lead singer and talked about the evolution of the band, their recording process and what it’s like balancing life on the road and being a mom.

Citadel Digital: You and the band have come a long way since 1976’s Dreamboat Annie. What inspired you to write and record Red Velvet Car?

Ann Wilson: We have made quite a few albums since Dreamboat Annie. Red Velvet Car will be the 13th studio album. We’re just artists. So we just always are inspired to make new albums because we’re artists.

CD: Does making a record still give you that same sense of excitement that it did 34 years ago?

AW: Of course it has. Every time we write a bunch of new songs, it might as well be the first album for us. We always just have a great time and are always very excited. It’s the first time we’ve been on a major label since the 70s. We’re excited because the people at Sony are excited, too. Everybody’s working really hard to make sure people know about this record. That’s pretty thrilling for us.

CD: How has your recording process changed?

AW: We’re just better off in the studio now because we know how to record. Our first album, we were pretty green, of course. We have learned a lot since then. Now we look forward to using all of the technology, and getting sounds, and developing the songs. It’s really great.

CD: What kind of sound were you going for on Red Velvet Car and how do you think that fits into the evolution of Heart?

AW: We have definitely gone for on Red Velvet Car a real warm, active sound. A lot of the songs were played all together in the same room at the same time, so they are really actual live performances. I think that they are great for these times because it provides more variety, more different kinds of things to listen to. You can listen to the real digital, put-together type of stuff, and you can listen to stuff that’s live and honest. I think it will fit in fine.

CD: Many of the tracks on Red Velvet Car seem to be about moving forward and the process of personal evolution. Were any of these songs inspired by personal experiences?

AW: Yeah, they all were. All the songs are autobiographical on this record. They are about travel and friendship and just about different things that have happened to us. About love and they’re all real.

CD: Did you want your audience to learn anything from Red Velvet Car?

AW: I would just hope that they would listen to it and enjoy it. It’s not really an instructional thing. It’s more of something for them to take into their lives and listen to personally or with friends and get off on it. Like the songs, listen to the poetry and hopefully understand something about us and how these songs can fit into their own lives.

CD: Heart has loyal fans that have been there since the ‘70s, some who came in during the ‘80s and ‘90s and maybe some that just found you with the last studio album. What does that feel like to look out from the stage and see so many different generations of faces singing along with your songs?

AW: It feels really great. It especially feels great when you see the children and the young people because they are getting a sense of music history when they come to a Heart show. That’s for a lot of them, roots stuff. And it feels very good. It also feels good to see their parents there, too, of course, because they are very loyal.

CD: Did you record Red Velvet Car with any age group in mind, and how do you think the new album will appeal to younger audiences?

AW: We did not record the album with any age group in mind. We just sort of know who our fans are. We know who comes out to the shows. It’s a wide demographic group. We were just trying to appeal to people in general and just to be honest ourselves. I think it will be great. We are already getting a lot of good radio play on a couple of the songs: “Hey You” and “WTF.” We’re a multi-dimensional band. We don’t just do one kind of thing all the time. We have several different faces. I think there are ways for different kinds of people and ages to latch onto it.

CD: What are you enjoying the most about your tour right now?

AW: The time on stage is hands down the best part of it. The travel is really extreme and difficult, but the time on stage makes it all worthwhile. The people last night, we played in Baltimore, and the people were just crazy out of their head. It was just really fun. So it’s as good as it ever was for us, and that is really saying something when you have been together as long as we have.

CD: With all that travel, how do you find a balance between your public, private and professional lives?

AW: Well, when we are home and not doing this, we are really home. And we’re pretty private. Nancy and I both have children. We have two each, so it’s really important that we be there for them. They come out on the road when they can. So we are with them every day whether it’s in person or calling back and forth several times a day at least. It’s a tightrope walk, of course, and as mothers we have to try really hard, REALLY hard, to move heaven and earth to talk to them every day no matter where we are. It can be done.

CD: We’ve heard lots of stories how Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks have fought for 40 years and how Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis have a weird sibling relationship. We’ve never really heard horrible things about you and Nancy. So, in a sense, you are wonderful family role models. What advice would you have for new bands made up of family members?

AW: I think that even though you are siblings, if you are gonna work together as friends and as fellow artists, it’s important to remember that any relationship needs work. You have to really be careful and treat it gently. So the relationship that Nancy and I have is a friendship, and we really are careful to give each other space and know when to say what to each other. We’re very cautious with our friendship because it’s very precious. Having said that, I think we’re lucky because we like each other. We have a really good sense of humor together, and that’s really important in this life. And I just happen to think that Nancy is extremely talented. And as an artist, I’m thrilled to be able to stand next to her on stage every night. For me, that’s worth working on a relationship for.

CD: What can we expect next, from Heart?

AW: When the album comes out, we, of course, will be doing some touring to support it. I’ve heard them talking about us going to Europe in the new year, and spreading the word around about Red Velvet Car and ourselves. I think Nancy and I in the future might record an album just the two of us. And we each have our various things we like to do. We like to be home, and just be people. I see more of the same: more playing, more singing, more writing. Just more living in the world.


Source

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Heart at the Ryman: Review and Pictures!

The sold out crowd rose to their feet as the legendary sister rock duo Heart took to the stage at the Ryman Auditorium. They continued to stand, dance, and jump around as the band played through their hits and introduced songs off their new album. The evening started off with Nancy Wilson revving up the crowd with a slamming guitar solo, while lead singer Ann Wilson entered from the back of the stage playing a flute. The crowd went crazy as the night began, especially when they launched into "What About Love."

Ann Wilson took time to engage the crowd throughout the night. She joked that Nancy and she had been doing music in Heart for a very long time, starting "way back in the 20th century." They then went on to play the title track from their 1978 album, Dog and Butterfly, as psychedelic images flashed on the screen behind them. They would go on to play through a majority of their hits, including "Crazy On You", "Magic Man", and "Alone".

Heart told the audience how blessed they felt to play in Nashville in front of so many incredible musicians. Ann Wilson then went on to say that the band had invited one of these musicians to join them tonight. As surprise guest Alison Krauss joined the sisters at the front, the rest of the band faded to the back. The crowd was awestruck as the trio joined together for a heartfelt song.

Heart spent a lot of the evening introducing their fans to the songs off their most recent studio effort, Red Velvet Car. Singer Ann Wilson explained that a red velvet car is what shows up when you are stuck and have no other options but to dial that last number in your phone. Other new songs included "WTF" and "Hey You".

Even after so many years, Heart has been able to hold onto their classic look and powerful, vocal driven sound. Ann Wilson can still hit the soaring high notes and Nancy Wilson's guitar licks are stronger than ever.


    
 



A&N Online Exclusive Review: Heart at the Ryman 8/17/2010

I encourage anyone who comes to this site, if you've seen a recent show, please submit a review! As a fan, I really enjoy reviews that go into a lot of detail. I love seeing the emotions in the words. I feel like some of the reviews I read from the "pros" are a little dry sometimes. When my friends and I read about the shows we always love hearing about the little in between moments, Ann and Nancy's banter, there's so many sweet, wonderful moments in a show that I don't want to miss out on. And we always love hearing about the outfits :D Anyone who is interested in submitting, I really encourage you to pour your heart out, bring us to the place Ann and Nancy took you. :)


Our second review! :D This one comes from my friend Kendel who attended the Ryman show! Enjoy :)


Heart at the historic Ryman Auditorium August 17, 2010

I have been a fan of Heart since before my age hit double digits. I remember playing jacks on the floor in my mom’s beauty shop in the ‘70s and hearing on the radio, “Crazy on You”. As a kid, my older cousins would let me sit on their laps and steer the car through our neighborhood, singing as loud as we could to whatever cool song was playing on the radio. It was with then that I learned to love all of what is now considered classic rock. But I especially loved Heart. My very first Heart album was the self –titled “Heart”. I knew every song and swore someday I would see these women perform. That was 1985.

That day came on August 17, 2010 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. I was ecstatic and could hardly wait to witness, in my mind, the best female rock n’ rollers in the business. Ann Wilson has a set of pipes on her like none other, and Nancy Wilson is right there with Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page. This show was guaranteed to rock!

The first opening act was a peaceful voice, Erick Baker. He only played a guitar and had an accompanying violin, but his vocals were awesome. I would love to hear him again.

My first reaction to the next act was, “Oh my God, it’s Hanson.” I was very wrong and apologize for placing the Tyler Bryant Band in that category. The lead singer is going to be a rock start. Mark my words….the boy is rock star material. They are a hometown band and obviously had many fans in the Ryman. I became their next.

We were pumped full of AC/DC while the stage was being prepped for Heart. It was during that time that I witnessed a crowd bursting at the seams with energy. A man several rows in front of me was playing air drums and had the whole auditorium rooting for him. The dude across the aisle was playing air guitar so “Slash-like” that his wife was distancing herself. The “wave” was surging through the crowd. It was simply electric.

Finally, the moment!! Heart came on stage! It was all so surreal. Ann was decked out in her black and singing with the same intensity she has been in the three plus decades earlier. Nancy was tearing up the guitar lead and looking very hot! They wowed the crowd with their new songs and at one point, one of country music’s finest, Alison Krauss, was brought on stage to sing with the ladies. The harmony between the three of them was magnificent.

The concert could have gone on forever. It was one fabulous song after another. I especially loved hearing Heart classics such as” Barracuda”, “Crazy on You”, “Magic Man”, and “What About Love”. Unfortunately, they didn’t sing my all-time favorite Heart song, “Will You Be There (In the Morning)”. There are many reasons I love that song, but probably the biggest reason is that Nancy sings lead vocals. It’s not often you get to hear her voice stand out from the incredible voice of Ann.

The electricity pulsating through the crowd was just as powerful after the last song as it was right before Heart came on stage. I had never experienced a show like it before. I told a friend of mine that the concert was better than the best concert I had seen before. That concert was Cher, in the 90s. I stand by those words. I will take every opportunity I have in the future to see Heart again. I can’t hardly wait until their new album comes out, spawning new Heart hits.

Kendel L. Boone

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Heart Returns to Rock, Stop at Oklahoma City's Zoo Amp

Not since the RUNAWAYS has women made the world of rock stand up and take notice like HEART.

Ann and Nancy Wilson exploded onto the musical landscape in 1975 with their hit album DREAMBOAT ANNIE. The album eventually sold over 1 million copies, spawning two of rock's greatest hits, CRAZY ON YOU and MAGIC MAN.

Ann Wilson has one of the most distinctively powerhouse voices in rock music. From her first note to her last gasp of air, Ann Wilson's voice leaves an indelible footprint in rock's timeline. HEART, with a musical career spanning over 30 years, has returned with a new album RED VELVET CAR.

"There's not an inauthentic, fictitious or posing bone in the body of this album," says Nancy Wilson. "Whether it's smart or not, there's no posing going on here whatsoever. We're telling our story. At one point, I said to Ann and Ben, "What we're doing in the studio with this album, this is the way we the Indians used to do it. You make a fire, and then you sit around the fire and tell your stories and pass them on with a real sense of one on one human contact. We feel like we made quite a fire together."

With a new album comes a much anticipated new tour which will wrap their 2010 touring season in late September.

Though not advertised on their website's tour dates, HEART is playing Oklahoma City's Zoo Amp on Saturday, August 21st.

Tickets are still available for this show with doors opening at 6 pm.

For more on HEART's show at the Zoo Amp go to: http://www.zooamp.com/


Source

Friday, August 20, 2010

Revolution Magazine: Heart - More Substance Than Style This Go Around

KILLER review of the Raleigh show!


Church came early for me this week with the combination of a run-in with an old friend and the act of spontaneity. It was a muggy Saturday and my afternoon was free. I had read online that the legendary band Heart was playing a very small, intimate amphitheatre in Raleigh, NC. Although we had no tickets, we decided to take our chance by driving down and seeing who may extra tickets for sale in the parking lot.

Sure enough, standing right by the entrance gate was a woman holding up tickets that she needed to unload. We purchased them for the very low price of only $10 each and entered. I should have known right then that it was going to be a very special evening. The opening act was a new male vocalist by the name of Erick Baker who took the stage all alone and very vulnerable with only his acoustic guitar and the mic. His voice, very similar in vein to David Grey (reference provided from a friend) was amazing and he definitely poured his heart into each song. At one point, I remember hearing him and thinking that the song sounded very familiar. He was doing an slowed down, acoustic version of the Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party”, which he managed to pull off and make it work. Just a quick side note, please look into this artist for he is a very talented guy on the verge of a major break.

The sky started to fade to night and the air started to cool and the setting was great for an outdoor concert. Heart hit the stage about 9:00 and it did not take long to see that these ladies are truly the real deal. In a age of “here today, gone today” flavors of the week in the music industry, it’s always rewarding to see an act like Heart. The Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy for those not in the know, have been rocking out for over thirty years and still do not get the respect that they truly deserve.

Ann kept the banter between songs very short, acknowledging that there was a lot of history to cover and for the crowd to have a goodtime and enjoy the evening. The arrangements on some of the hits that they have been playing for years were toyed with just a little bit to give the songs a fresh interpretation. Their big hit from the eighties “These Dreams” showcased Nancy on mandolin which was a great artistic move on her part. It really added to the structure of the song and made it, in my opinion, even better than the original version.

The band is actually touring this summer to support their new CD, “Red Velvet Car” and they played three tracks from it that night including the texting friendly appropriate song called “WTF”, which was actually a good little rocking tune. The band continued to mix up the classic hits from the seventies and the hits from their big, yet brief heyday in the eighties. Ann’s version of “Alone” was stripped down to an almost keyboard only performance that really showed why her voice is one that the most underappreciated voices in the history of music. How many times can you say that you have gone to a concert and that the singer’s vocals sounded even better live than on the CD itself? Ann’s voice live has that pure, raw emotion feel to it that gets stripped away during production in a studio.

All the seventies classics seem to have been spotlighted including the rocking “Barracuda” , “Straight On” and “Magic Man”. A very cool little “mash-up” was their classic “Even It Up” mixed with the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” which sounded amazing. A personal highlight for me was my favorite of their classic seventies hits “Dog & Butterfly” on which Ann can do no wrong. Such a beautiful song on which Ann’s connection with the lyrical content is an element lacking in so many singers today.

Heart fans know that the band is notorious live for doing some amazing covers of classic songs from bands that they are fans of. A prime example being the solid cover of Zeppelin’s “Rock n Roll”. Well, the girls may have just topped themselves with the encore played this particular night. The two song encore started with a wicked cover of Zeppelin’s “What Is and What Should Never Be”.

What was about to happen next is one of those events that you feel honored to have experienced. At that point, we were taken to church by the Wilson sisters as they graced the crowd with a cover of the Who classic “Love Reign O’er Me”. Now, I am a Who fan and had even talked on Facebook with a fellow writer about the exact same song earlier in the day. To add to the irony of it all is the fact that I was even wearing a Who shirt that evening! What proceeded to happen over the next six minutes was nothing short of spiritual. The power of Ann’s voice delivering the poetic words of Pete Townsend’s masterpiece from Quadrophenia. That, combined with the superb musicianship supplied by the band, created one of the strongest musical moments that I think I have ever witnessed live.

Overall, the show was nothing short of a stellar display of pure talent. Artists like Ann and Nancy Wilson are rare in today’s music scene. True, back in the eighties, they did get caught up in that “packaged” artist machine that pushed style over substance, but it didn’t take them long to come to their senses and get back to what it was all about…the music. Did they play all the hits that night in Raleigh? No, quite a few of their big ones were left out, but just about everyone there walked away with a feeling of satisfaction and definitely getting their moneys worth. In today’s recession, that just doesn’t happen too many times.


Source

Huntsville Review!

HUNTSVILLE, AL. - For about the first hour or so of its 90-minute concert Thursday night, Heart played, well, with a lot of heart.

Ann and Nancy Wilson, together for over 35 years after great success in the 1970s and '80s, brought along with them four other musicians Thursday night and entertained a small but enthusiastic older crowd of about 3,000 fans at the Von Braun Center Arena.

Edwin McCain gave a better than your average opener performance, playing for about 40 minutes and including such hits as "I'll Be" and "I Could Not Ask for More." He even talked about grabbing lunch at Tim's Cajun Kitchen.

Heart then took the stage, opening with a lesser known song from 1978's "Dog & Butterfly" album, "Cook With Fire," and kicked it up a little with "What About Love" and "Straight On for You." The gals may not be as young as they used to be - "We aren't as old as dirt, but we've been around a while," Nancy said - but they haven't lost a beat on the stage. Ann's voice is still as amazingly strong and powerful as it's always been and Nancy jumps around flailing her guitar like some 19-year-old.

Heart continued with "Dog & Butterfly," "These Dreams," the group's first No. 1 hit, "Alone," the second No. 1, and "Even It Up." The group then started in with the sometimes dreaded "stuff from our new album." In fairness to Heart, the gals haven't had a new studio album since 2004, so they played selections from "Red Velvet Car," due out Aug. 31, including "Hey You," "Red Velvet Car" and "WTF."

The songs seemed more mellow, more country/folk, similar to the sound the gals put out as the Lovemongers, their side band in the '90s when they took a break from Heart. They were okay, but probably not what most of the crowd came to hear.

However, this story - and concert - have a happy ending.

That's because the last 30 or minutes of the show were pure, hard drivin' Heart rock, bringing the crowd to its feet. First came "Magic Man," then Nancy did an extended guitar intro before the band ripped into "Crazy On You." After that came "Barracuda."

The band exited the stage for a few minutes, then came back and flexed its rock muscles during the encore. You'd never know Ann is 60 and Nancy 56, especially as they performed Led Zeppelin's classic "What Is and What Should Never Be" and The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" with all the fury that Robert Plant/Jimmy Page and Roger Daltry/Pete Townsend put into it way back when.

It was the kind of ending all rock fans love, one that leaves you buzzing as you're walking out the door.


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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Heart Moms: Ann and Nancy Wilson Talk Family

Great read and beautiful photo of Nancy playing to her boys ♥


Ann and Nancy Wilson have literally been joined at the hip since they were little girls. As adults, the pair continues to be connected as the heart of the rock group Heart. But, Ann and Nancy Wilson are also mothers who have lived the rock and roll motherhood lifestyle that Sheryl Crow is just now discovering with her two young sons.

The Wilson sisters took the rock world by storm in the 1970s with huge hits Crazy On You, Magic Man, Barracuda, and then in the 1980s with Alone and What About Love.

Both musicians are mothers and have tackled the same issues all moms do today with balancing their demanding work schedules and raising their children.

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart took time out of their tour supporting their latest record, Red Velvet Car, to write a blog post for SheKnows exclusively about what it means to them to be a rock and roll parent!

Nancy Wilson

Now that my twins are 10, one of the best things of all, is to see how close they’ve become, how much they love each other, and entertain each other. I tell them together they could rule the world. The hardest part is keeping up with the intensity of their energy that only sparks when they are together. One boy at a time is a completely different story.

The sweetest part of all, when the kids can travel on the road with me, is seeing them appreciate my job for the first time. How much fun it is to ride on the tour bus together. [Check out the photo above of Nancy’s sons, Billy and Curtis, admiring their mom performing!]

Ann Wilson

Being a single mom has serious drawbacks in that the buck stops with you. But on the other hand that's one of the good things about it. You don’t have to balance out anyone else’s opinion. You have to learn how to split your brain and think of two things at once, so that you’re singing the words of a song and at the same time you are dealing with your 19-year-old daughter's crisis.

My 12-year-old son, is still at the age where he likes to travel with me, and gets excited about being a part of the road crew. It’s really amazing to watch him turn into a young man, right in front of my eyes.

[Photo at right shows Ann’s son, Dustin, getting lessons about connecting a pedal board for his mom’s latest tour stop.]





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Nancy in the October Issue of Guitar World!

I was holding out so much hope that she'd be in this issue! Yay! :D And another gorgeous shot from Amber McDonald. Can't wait until these are released :)

Scans credit to: Heart-Music






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Q104.3 Private Show: Heart

Win tickets to their P.C. Richard & Son Theater concert

Join Ann and Nancy Wilson – the legendary Heart – at the P.C. Richard & Son Theater as they play a special acoustic set. The event will be hosted by Q104.3's Jim Kerr, who will also do a Q&A with the Wilson sisters. Heart's new album, Red Velvet Car, is in stores August 31.

The only way in is to win – tune into Q104.3 for another chance, and if you’re a Q Workforce member, Q104.3 has extra tickets set aside for you to win! Click here.

Join Ann and Nancy Wilson – the legendary Heart – at Q104.3's P.C. Richard & Son Theater on September 1 as they play a special acoustic set just for our listeners. The event will be hosted by Q104.3's Jim Kerr, who will also do a Q&A with the Wilson sisters.


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Heart and Erick Baker Rock the nTelos Pavilion

Friday, August 13, Heart and opening act Erick Baker rocked the Portsmouth nTelos Pavilion stage.

Erick Baker kicked off the night with songs from his new album, Holding the Pieces in Place, and some of his older music including “Comfort You”, “Room to Fall”, “Stay Awhile”, “Crazy”, and “Next to Me”.

He also sang a song which he called “Nothing at All” and an acoustic cover of the Beastie Boys “Fight for Your Right to Party” which he slowed down to emphasize the words and sentiment. Baker performed with an amazing enthusiasm, intensity, and passion which you could read in his facial expressions and gestures as he sang and played guitar.

During his performance, he explained to the audience that his music is inspired by life and love. “Room to Fall” was inspired by his wife’s pregnancy and his desire to be a good parent to his daughter, Annabel. While “Stay Awhile” was inspired by his love for his wife.

Baker has a unique sound. Although his vocals and musical style are in some ways similar to that of mainstream artists Edwin McCain, Daughtry, John Mayer, and Train, Baker’s lyrics are deep, personal, and genuine like the thoughtful and vulnerable lyrics of the best coffee house poetry.

Heart performed some of their best known music and songs from their new album, Red Velvet Car which will be released August 31. The set list included “Cook With Fire”, “Heartless”, “What About Love”, “Straight On”, “Dog and Butterfly”, “These Dreams”, “Hey You”, “Even It Up”, “Red Velvet Car”, “In the Cool”, “Alone”, “WTF”, “Magic Man”, “Crazy on You”, and “Barracuda”. During their encore performance, Heart also performed a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “What Is and What Should Never Be” and The Who’s “Love, Reign O’er Me”.

Unlike other popular performers from the 70’s and 80’s who have recently performed in Hampton Roads, Heart still has IT. Listening to Heart Friday night was every bit as wonderful as listening to Heart for the first time in the 80’s. Their music was delivered with an amazing energy and showmanship that no CD or sound system could ever deliver.

Ann still has the vocal strength, accuracy, and range to give you goose bumps while Nancy’s vocals, energy, and rock star moves on the guitar remind viewers of what a rock concert should be.

Their music was accompanied by moving and stationary lighting, black lights, fog, and themed background images to go along with the band's name and the songs they were performing. The stage was well lit with moving and stationary spots of blue, red, yellow, green, purple, and orange. Background images included everything from hearts and circles on fire, sunbursts, red velvet cars, montages of geometric and organic shapes, and kaleidoscopic images.

Heart also incorporated video clips into their performance to illustrate “These Dreams” and “Red Velvet Car”. "These Dreams” was illustrated with clips of rapid movement through nighttime clouds, a misty forest, images of fall, and waves lapping into the shore which helped audience members envision the “dream”. “Red Velvet Car”, described by the sisters as a true love song, was illustrated with cartoon images of the sisters in dire straits being rescued by the “Red Velvet Car”.

Heart’s use of video clips, images, and lighting effects enhanced an already outstanding performance. The Wilson sisters continue to be not only talented musicians, but also talented performers. This was by far nTelos Pavilion’s best performance of the summer.



Classic Rock Revisited Review of Red Velvet Car

On August 31st Heart returns with an album of nine new songs and one oldie seeing the light of day once again. Red Velvet Car sees the Sisters Wilson focusing strongly on vocal chops and acoustic guitars, even though some of the best moments are when they plug in the electrics. “WTF” and “Death Valley” are two great rocking tracks that show with Heart could do if they so chose.

However, this is a celebration of the acoustic. The album starts off with one of the strongest songs in “There You Go.” Other high points are a thirteen-year-old track from the band’s Lovemonger days titled “Sand.” The title track is also very well written and will be a fan favorite.

Ann sounds amazing, as usual. It is easy to review Heart’s music and not even mention her vocal acrobatics as we have come to take them for granted. She sounds as strong today as at any point in her past. Sister Nancy sings two tunes, “Sunflower” and “Hey You” and does a fine job. Her acoustic playing and songwriting have depth… soul, one could say, not the Motown kind but rather the spiritual variety.

The Wilson’s looked deep inside themselves and focused on feelings, observations and their roots when creating Red Velvet Car. It is a kinder, gentler and more mature Heart than we have seen before. However, it also is the most revealing the band, especially Ann, has been with her softer emotions. She opens up for the masses and the result is a solid, professional and music album.


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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Cool Information on the Guitar in the New Nancy Picture!

Here's what Motley Sue at the Heart Boards had to say about the beautiful guitar in the new photo of Nancy:
That guitar is a custom 12 string PRS. This is one of his early models... abalone and mother of pearl dragon inlay. PRS - Paul Reed Smith - this one lives in her guitar vault.

Gorgeous Video from Raleigh!

Here is a BEAUTIFULLY shot (albeit a bit shaky in some parts) video of Nancy singing These Dreams in Raleigh on the 14th. You can see her every little expression. Just gorgeous ♥

Lite FM Featured Artist: Heart

Heart got their start in 1963 in Seattle, Washington formed by bassist Steve Fossen and brothers Roger Fisher (guitar/mandolin) and Mike Fisher (producer and sound engineer). The group went by the name The Army and White Heart, before settling on just Heart in the early 1970s. Ann Wilson joined the group in 1970. Romance sprang up between her and Mike, and she came along when they moved to Vancouver to avoid the Vietnam draft some years later.

Soon after the move, Ann’s sister Nancy Wilson joined the group. Mirroring her sister she became romantically involved with Roger. The band gained a following in Canada and was signed to the small Canadian label Mushroom, which issued their debut album, “Dreamboat Annie”, in 1976. “Dreamboat Annie” was recorded with new members guitarist/keyboardist Howard Leese and drummer Michael Derosier. The album brought forth Heart’s first U.S. chart entry, “Crazy on you” peaking at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two years later, the single was re-released by Mushroom — this time reaching #62 in the U.S.

In 1977, Heart moved to CBS affiliate Portrait. This didn’t go well with Mushroom owner Shelly Siegel, and a legal battle ensued. After the smoke cleared, Heart’s second album “Little Queen” was released on Portrait in 1977. It was a substantial hit, but wasn’t the enormous hit their debut album was. Only one single, “Barracuda,” from the album made the Top 40 this time around. Curiously, the single, “Heartless,” from the unfinished LP “Magazine” released by Mushroom charted higher than Little Queen’s other two singles.

Heart’s third official album, “Dog and Butterfly”, came out the next year. It only managed to reach #17 on the Billboard 200, and showed that Heart’s success was declining (at least for the time being). The Fisher/Wilson romances came to an end following the album, and Roger left the group.

In 1980, Bebe Le Strange was released. In 1982, after releasing their 6th album Private Audition, Fossen and Derosier left the group, and were replaced by ex-Spirit and Firefall bassist Mark Andes and former Gamma drummer Denny Carmassi.

After releasing “Passionworks” in 1983 and switching to Capitol Records, Heart broke in to the pop scene with a self-titled album in 1985 that would be their biggest, resulting in four Top Ten singles, “What About Love?,” “Never,” “These Dreams,” and “Nothin’ at All.” This album marked a significant turning point for the band as this was the first album the band employed outside songwriters for (only 3 of the songs, and none of the hits, were written by band members) and they went for a much more synthesizer-heavy commercial radio friendly sound. As well as establishing their mainstream success, the album also established the style that would take Heart through the ’80s and into the early 90’s, a mix of power ballads and pop rock. Further albums in this vein followed in the form of Bad Animals (which netted the band three more Top Ten singles including their second number one record “Alone”) and Brigade.

Following Brigade the band went on hiatus, as Ann and Nancy formed an acoustic group dubbed the Lovemongers, with Sue Ennis and Frank Cox.

Returning with 1993’s “Desire Walks On”, the band continued touring through the mid-90s, and released two live albums, “The Road Home”, which features acoustic renderings of some of their biggest hits, and “Alive in Seattle.” Heart went on hiatus again in 1997, when the Wilson sisters worked on their acoustic group again. In 1999 Nancy released a solo album “Live at McCabe’s Guitar Shop”, and she has written scores of individual songs for several of her husband’s (Cameron Crowe) films – including “Vanilla Sky”, “ElizabethTown” and “Almost Famous”. In 2004, the band released “Jupiter’s Darling”, their first studio album in 11 years, which enjoyed only limited success, perhaps because of the shift away from the power pop sound they became known for at the height of their fame. Anne’s first solo album “Hope & Glory” was released in 2007.

Heart is a rock band whose founding members came from Seattle, Washington, USA in the early 1970s. Going through several lineup changes, the only constant members of the group are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music. After diminishing in popularity by the mid-1980s, the band created a major comeback in 1985, experiencing further success with their power ballads throughout the rest of the decade. By the mid-1990s, Heart left their 1980s’ sound and went back to their hard rock roots which they continue to play today. To date, Heart has sold over 35 million albums worldwide.

After a six-year hiatus, Heart will return with a new studio recording on August 31 2010, entitled Red Velvet Car.

In 1967 Steve Fossen formed The Army along with Roger Fisher on guitar, Don Wilhelm on guitar, keyboards and lead vocals, Ray Schaefer on drums. Fossen himself played the bass. They played for several years in and around the Bothell, Washington area (northeast of Seattle). They frequently played Bothell High School, Inglemoor High School and Shorecrest High School, as well as many taverns and club venues. They frequented the club “Parker’s” on Aurora Avenue in north Seattle during the 1970s when it was known as the “Aquarius Tavern”. In 1969 the band went through line-up changes (Gary Ziegelman on lead vocals, Roger on guitar, Steve on bass, James Cirrello on guitar, Ron Rudge on drums, Ken Hansen on percussion, and Debi Cuidon on vocals[citation needed]) and a new name, White Heart (from Tales from the White Hart, a collection of short stories by Arthur C. Clarke). For a brief time in 1970 this line-up shortened its name to Heart; however, the band went through more personnel changes, and when Ann Wilson joined in late 1970, the band was named Hocus Pocus.[citation needed] Mike Fisher, Roger’s brother, was set to be drafted. When he did not report for duty, his home was raided, but he slipped out a rear window, escaped to Canada and became a Vietnam War draft dodger.

One day in 1971, Mike sneaked across the border to visit family and, by chance, met Ann at a Hocus Pocus show. According to Nancy, that meeting was “when she and Michael fell in love” and Ann decided to follow Mike back to Canada. Steve Fossen finished his college education before he also decided to move to Canada in late 1972, and Roger followed in late 1972 / early 1973, and along with Mike and Ann, the band Heart was officially formed. Nancy joined in 1974, and soon after became involved with Roger. In 1974 the Heart lineup consisted of Ann, Nancy, Roger, Steve, John Hannah (keyboards) and Brian Johnstone (drums).

Ann and Nancy Wilson

The Wilson sisters grew up in Southern California and Taiwan before their Marine Corps father retired to the Seattle suburbs. After Ann graduated from Sammamish High School in Bellevue, Washington, she joined Roger Fisher in the band Hocus Pocus where she met Roger’s brother Mike in 1971, and followed him back to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Meanwhile, Nancy finished high school then went to college where she majored in art and German literature. She then played solo gigs until 1974 when she quit college and moved to Canada to join Heart.

Success (1975–1982)

After many one-night shows around their new home, the group recorded a demo tape with the assistance of producer Mike Flicker and session-guitarist and keyboard player, Howard Leese. Hannah and Johnstone had left by this time, and soon after Leese became a full-time member of the group. The same team then cut the debut album, Dreamboat Annie, which attracted the attention of the newly formed Mushroom Records in 1975, a Vancouver-based label run by Shelly Siegel. Drummers Duris Maxwell, Dave Wilson, Kat Hendrikse and Michael Derosier were among those who played on the sessions for the album. Derosier eventually joined them as their full-time drummer. Upon release in Canada, the album sold an impressive 30,000 copies. In the US, Siegel released the album first in Seattle where it quickly sold another 25,000 copies. With two hit singles, “Crazy on You” (#35, 1976) and “Magic Man” (#9, 1976), Dreamboat Annie eventually sold over 1 million copies.

Mike Fisher was able to freely return to the United States with the members of Heart after President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders upon taking office on January 21, 1977. By this time Heart had broken its contract with Mushroom Records and signed with CBS subsidiary Portrait, a move that resulted in a prolonged legal battle with Siegel. He released the partly completed Magazine just before Portrait released Little Queen. A Seattle court ruled that Mushroom Records had to recall Magazine so that the group could remix several tracks and redo vocals before re-releasing the disc; Heart had wanted the album taken off the market completely.[citation needed] Hence, Magazine was released twice, both before and after Little Queen.

Little Queen, with the hit “Barracuda” (#11, 1977), became Heart’s second million-seller. Ann and Nancy appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in July 1977 (issue No. 244).

Magazine was re-issued in early 1978, peaking in the top twenty and gave forth the hit single “Heartless”. In late 1978, the double-platinum Dog and Butterfly followed suit. After the 77-city “Dog and Butterfly” tour, the Wilson-Fisher liaisons ended. Roger left the band in the fall of 1979 after having a breakdown on stage and throwing a guitar near Nancy’s head backstage.[17] Michael was no longer their manager and left Ann for another woman. Roger Fisher formed his own band in the Seattle area. Longtime guitarist Howard Leese and Nancy filled the guitar slack and her childhood friend Sue Ennis helped with song collaborations. Heart then released Bebe le Strange in 1980. It became the band’s second top ten hit album and produced two hit singles. By the end of the year, the band scored their highest charted single at the time; a remake of the ballad “Tell it Like it Is” which peaked at #8.

Comeback (1983–1990)

Following the release of Private Audition in 1982, Fossen and Derosier left the band. Both Private Audition and 1983′s Passionworks, (featuring new bassist Mark Andes and new drummer Denny Carmassi), failed to go gold putting Heart at a career crossroads.

In 1984, Ann Wilson recorded a duet with Mike Reno of Loverboy called “Almost Paradise”. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Footloose and hit #7 on the pop charts. Then Heart’s first album for Capitol, simply titled Heart (#1, 1985), sold 5 million copies on the strength of 4 Top-10 hits: “What About Love?” (#10, 1985), “Never” (#4, 1985), “These Dreams” (#1, 1986) and “Nothin’ at All” (#10, 1986).

In June 1986, Nancy Wilson married journalist, screenwriter and director Cameron Crowe. (She had made a cameo appearance in his movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982, in a scene where she was driving a Corvette, listed as “Beautiful Girl In Car”.) Heart’s next album, Bad Animals (#2, 1987), also contained a chart-topper, in the power ballad “Alone” (#1, 1987), as well as “Who Will You Run To?” (#7, 1987), and “There’s The Girl” (#12, 1987). A 4th single: “I Want You So Bad” hit #49 on the Billboard charts.

Despite their new success, Ann’s weight gain was seen as a liability for the band. Record company executives and even band members began pressuring her to lose weight. For their music videos, Ann was usually shown in close-up and wide shots wearing heavy black clothes to hide her weight, and more focus was put on Nancy.

In 1989, Ann Wilson and Cheap Trick‘s lead singer, Robin Zander, had a #6 hit with their duet, “Surrender to Me”. Brigade (#3, 1990) became Heart’s 6th multi-platinum LP and added three more Top-25 hits to its catalogue, the most notable of which was “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You” (#2 U.S.).

1991–1995

Following a 1990 tour, the Wilson sisters put together an informal acoustic group called The Lovemongers with Sue Ennis and Frank Cox. A four-song EP that included a version of Led Zeppelin‘s “The Battle of Evermore” came out in late 1992, and the quartet performed several times in the Seattle area. The Lovemongers released a full-length album titled Whirlygig in 1997.

Also in 1992, Ann sang with Alice in Chains on the songs “Brother”, “Am I Inside” and “Love Song”, from the EP Sap. When Heart re-emerged with Desire Walks On (#48) in 1993, Schuyler Deale played bass on the album’s sessions. (Mark Andes had left the band by 1992.) For the group’s subsequent tour, Heart was joined by bassist Fernando Saunders and drummer Denny Fongheiser. The band offered live acoustic versions of its best-known songs on 1995′s The Road Home, which was produced by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones.

In 1995 Nancy decided to take a break from music to concentrate on raising a family with husband Cameron Crowe. Ann toured that year with a band that was alternately called The Ann Wilson Band or Ann Wilson & the Ricola Brothers. This lineup included Leese, Scott Olson (guitars), Jon Bayless (bass) and Scott Adams (sax). Additionally, Lovemongers’ members Ben Smith (drums) and Frank Cox (guitars, keyboards, percussion) performed in this lineup. They were joined by Nancy for at least one show at The Joint in Las Vegas on October 16, 1995, which was billed as a Heart show and later broadcast by the Westwood One Superstars in Concert series. A videotape of the show was also shown on VH1.

1996-2001

In 1998 Ann toured again without Nancy, this time billed as Ann Wilson and Heart. The lineup was the same as it had been in 1995, but without Scott Adams. This was long term band member Leese’s last tour with Heart; he left the band later in the year. Nancy kept busy scoring her husband’s movies Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Elizabethtown and Vanilla Sky. She wrote and, along with her husband, produced the song “I Fall Apart” in Vanilla Sky that Cameron Diaz performed, and also composed “Elevator Beat”, a non-vocal composition for the film. In 1999 Nancy released a solo album, Live at McCabe’s Guitar Shop. Also in 1999, Nancy and Ann embarked on a tour of their own, this being the first time that they had done so.

2002-2006

Nancy and Ann Wilson playing at a charity concert for the Canary Foundation 28 July 2007

In 2002, Ann and Nancy returned to the road with a brand-new Heart lineup that included Scott Olson, Ben Smith, Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez, and keyboardist Tom Kellock. In 2003, Heart released their critically acclaimed[citation needed] concert DVD Alive in Seattle which has since been certified Gold – Video Longform by the RIAA. The DVD includes such hits as “Alone”, “Barracuda”, “Crazy on You”, “Magic Man”, “Straight On”, “These Dreams” and many more.

Also in 2003, Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N’ Roses) and Darian Sahanaja replaced Olson and Kellock. These two new men didn’t stay very long and were succeeded in 2004 by Craig Bartok and Debbie Shair. (Sahanaja’s schedule became very busy after he joined Brian Wilson‘s touring band, but he returned to play with Heart in 2007 for their “Dreamboat Annie Live” show.) In 2004 the Wilsons released Jupiter’s Darling, their first studio album as Heart since 1993. It featured a variety of songs that include a return to Heart’s original sound, as well as a blend of pop and new textures. Stand-out tracks included “Make Me”, “Enough”, “Oldest Story In The World” and “Lost Angel”. In 2005 the Wilsons appeared on the CMT Music Awards as a special guest of country singer Gretchen Wilson, (no relation), and performed the Heart classic, “Crazy On You”, with Gretchen. Also in 2005 Heart appeared in the finale episode of the second season of The L Word on Showtime (broadcast on May 15, 2005), performing “Crazy on You”.

Heart performed with Gretchen Wilson on VH-1′s 10 March 2006 tribute to the band, “Decades Rock Live”. The special also featured Alice in Chains, Phil Anselmo, Dave Navarro, Rufus Wainwright and Carrie Underwood. Later in the year, bass player Inez left Heart to re-join the reformed Alice In Chains. Ric Markman then became Heart’s new bassist.
[edit] 2007-2009

Heart was honored at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors (24 May 2007), and also performed along with Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis and ZZ Top. Gretchen Wilson and Alice in Chains honored the group by performing Barracuda. [1] This, along with the inclusion of “Crazy on You” in Guitar Hero II and “Barracuda” in the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits video game, renewed interest in Heart once again.

In September 2007, Ann Wilson released her first solo album, Hope & Glory. The album features guest appearances by Elton John, Alison Krauss, Nancy Wilson, k d lang, Wynonna Judd, Gretchen Wilson, Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, and Deana Carter, and was produced by Ben Mink (Barenaked Ladies, k d lang and Feist). Both Nancy Wilson and Roger Fisher commenced writing autobiographies, but no publication dates have yet been mentioned.

Heart appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 25, 2008 for Ellen’s birthday show, and performed “Barracuda”. Ellen played an intro to “Barracuda” on Guitar Hero in front of the audience before announcing Heart. On April 9, 2008, the band appeared on Idol Gives Back with Fergie, who sang “Barracuda” in harmony with Ann. In mid 2008, Heart made a U.S. tour with Journey and Cheap Trick.

In May 2008, Heart, Ann and Nancy Wilson, generously donated their musical talent for an Artist for the Arts Foundation benefit. Performing live along side the band Venice and over 50 members of the Santa Monica High School orchestra The Benefit helped to provide funds for the continuation of Music Education in the schools. The event was filmed and recorded by Touring Video and Post by On the WAVE Productions. The video was produced by Harry Rabin of OTW and can be seen on the AFTA Foundation website. aftafoundation.org

In July 2009, Heart were special guests on 15 dates of Journey’s summer arena tour. They played at a number of venues, including Louisville’s Freedom Hall, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Sovereign Center, Reno Events Center, and Taco Bell Arena. Heart also headlined a series of shows with The Bangles opening for them. Heart also headlined at the Verizon Wireless American Music Festival Labor Day 2009. They also wrote two songs (“Mine”, “Civilian”) with American female pop rock duo 78violet for their upcoming self titled studio album.

2010 and Red Velvet Car

In January 2010, Nancy and Ann both took part in We Are the World: 25 for Haiti.

On March 5, 2010, Heart announced on their official website that they have completed recording for a new album entitled Red Velvet Car. The album is set for worldwide release on August 31, 2010 and is already being accompanied by an expansive US tour, which commenced in January and is currently set to run until September. European dates for an autumn schedule are expected to be announced in due course.

The album will contain 12 new tracks including a new working of the Lovemongers’ favourite ‘Sand’. Heart have recently signed a new deal with Sony-Legacy for distribution of the album.

A brand new live DVD of the 2010 tour will also accompany the album’s release – the show already having been filmed on March 5 in their hometown of Seattle.

Current tour dates feature a slightly different setlist, which includes the rarely performed Dog and Butterfly track “Cook With Fire” as the opening song.

A new digital E.P. featuring new track ‘WTF’ was released for download on July 5th 2010, and features five tracks in all, four of which have been recorded live on Heart’s current US tour.

On May 15, 2010, Roger Fisher, Howard Leese, Steve Fossen, and Mike Derosier performed on stage together for the 1st time in 30 years at the historic Temple Theatre in Tacoma, Washington as part of a concert titled “Synergia Northwest.” These musicians are the original founding members of the band.

Legacy

In addition to their own recording careers, the Wilson sisters have played a key role on the Seattle music scene. Among the groups who have recorded at their Bad Animals studio are R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Candlebox (all of whom have cited Heart as an influence).

“Heart’s Heart: 20 Years of Rock & Roll” was the first CD-ROM multimedia biography/greatest hits package ever released.

Heart was one of the first mainstream rock bands where women were in complete creative control. Their success helped influence other women in the hard rock and heavy metal genres including Lita Ford and Pat Benatar.

In 2009 the Wilson sisters were also awarded ASCAP’s Founders Award in recognition of their 35-year songwriting career.


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PopCultureGuy: Raleigh Review 8/14/2010

Heart performed live at the downtown Raleigh Amphitheater last night to a raucous crowd that had the pleasure of hearing classic Heart hits, a few new songs and two outstanding cover tunes. Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have fronted Heart for almost 35 years, but have maintained youthful appearances, along with voices that have aged very well and they still retain the ability to rock as hard as any band I have ever seen live.

The concert featured Heart classics, such as "Magic Man", "Alone", "These Dreams", "Crazy On You", "Barracuda" and "What About Love." Ann's vocals on "Crazy On You" and "Alone" were especially impressive and I loved that Nancy performed the instrumental "Silver Wheels" prior to the opening of "Crazy On You." From a musical perspective, "Barracuda" and "Magic Man" sounded almost exactly the same as the original album versions, only much louder, which is a good thing.

Lesser know, but equally good songs, such as the seldom heard "Heartless" were a highlight of the show. In addition, I thought the band was going to cover "Gimme Shelter", from The Rolling Stones, before breaking into the funky and underrated "Even it Up", which also ended with the sounds of "Gimme Shelter." While it was not an official "mash-up" it was an interesting way to combine the sounds of both songs. Furthermore, Heart achieved acoustic perfection with the classic "Dog & Butterfly", sounded funky again on "Straight On" and started the rocking show with "Cook With Fire", a song I had never heard live before.

Heart also played four new songs, from their forthcoming CD "Red Velvet Car", including "Hey You", with Nancy on lead vocals and the title track, which was accompanied by terrific animation featuring Ann and Nancy. Two other new songs, the vocally and lyrically strong "In the Cool" was outstanding and I enjoyed hearing it much better live than the recorded version and if "WTF" does not become a big hit for the band, then something is wrong. Their performance of that song was amazing!

The encore consisted of Led Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be", which I had never heard Heart perform before, and the band's incredible, rocking rendition of The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me." Overall, the concert was outstanding and I have no legitimate complaints. However, I would have loved to have heard "Mistral Wind" and "Sand."

In addition to Ann and Nancy Wilson, the band members include Debbie Shair on keyboard, Ben Smith on drums, Craig Bartok on guitar and Christian Attard on bass guitar. The opening act featured singer/songwriter Erick Baker, who hails from Knoxville, TN. His style is a throwback to the classic singer/songwriters of the the 1970's and he possesses a very strong voice, coupled with introspective lyrics about life, love and loss.


Source

After 35 Years, Heart is Still Looking Good

As purveyors of '70s arena rock, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart found few other women in the genre.

They charted big hits, several of which are rock classics, and sold 35 million albums worldwide. That's roughly a million for each year the two have been recording. On Friday, they headline Portsmouth's nTelos Pavilion.

As Heart got established, it certainly helped that the camera loved the Wilsons' faces. Ann, the brunette, and Nancy, the blonde, smoldered on the cover of their 1976 debut, "Dreamboat Annie," on which the two were shown back to back, bare-shouldered, Ann's lips parted. On "Little Queen," released the next year and featuring the hard-rock anthem "Barracuda," the Wilson sisters were resplendent in medieval get-ups - fully covered, but still sensual.

The pair later appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with come-hither stares, heavy makeup and bare shoulders. Selling sex and sensuality during the days of disco was more suggestive, perhaps even downright innocuous, compared with today's pornographic standards.

But the bottom line is Heart had to push the sex factor way up front to get their Led Zeppelin-influenced sound to the mainstream. That was still the case during their power ballad-fueled comeback in the mid-'80s, when Ann's weight gain threatened to derail the band's success.

Now that the Wilson sisters are close to 60 and have been formally recognized as trailblazers for women in hard rock, the emphasis has shifted from their sex appeal. They're probably relieved about that. "Red Velvet Car," Heart's first studio release in six years, is due out Aug. 31. On it, the Wilson sisters return to the driving hard rock of their heyday, when perhaps some critics were too distracted by their sexiness to appreciate the depth of their talent. The album cover does not picture the sisters.

Ann still possesses one of the most powerful sets of pipes in rock, and Nancy's skills on an assortment of string instruments are still impressive. No song on the album has the immediacy of "Barracuda" or the gloss of "These Dreams." But Heart still plays with, well, heart and plenty of energy.

"Red Velvet Car," to be released by Sony's Legacy label, boasts an evolved sound that doesn't pander to the iPod generation. The women of Heart have strong stories to tell through the music.

And they still don't look too bad doing it.


Source

Monday, August 16, 2010

Nancy Interview with Entertainment Weekly!

This is a REALLY great interview! And look at this picture! My goodness she is gorgeous. Thanks to my friend Mindy for showing me this link :)


In the 1970s, Heart—featuring wild-haired Seattle sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson—filled arenas with their muscular, commanding hard-rock anthems: “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” “Barracuda.” In the ’80s they did it again, albeit with a lot more AquaNet.

The ’90s and ’00s have been quieter, more focused on family and side projects like the Lovemongers and Nancy’s frequent soundtrack collaborations (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, and Vanilla Sky among them) with her husband, filmmaker Cameron Crowe.

This summer, however, Heart returns after a six-year hiatus with new album, Red Velvet Car, to be released August 31, and a tour to support it through late September. EW spoke to Nancy about coming up as one of the first (and finest) female guitarists in the testosterone world of stadium rock, working out the band’s new album, and who’s on her personal playlist.

EW: So before this interview, I was doing some research and ended up going on kind of a YouTube bender watching old Heart clips. Do you find yourself ever revisiting those, or have your kids [Wilson and Crowe are parents to ten-year-old twin boys] ferreted them out?

Nancy Wilson: You mean like a Heart marathon? My boys are ten, and they’ve seen a few things, but I don’t intentionally take them there [laughs]. It can be kind of embarrassing because of the hairdos and the kinds of fashion statements that we thought we needed to make in those various eras. I mean, was there ever enough hairspray? But the boys see a few things and they go, “Is that you?” and it’s kind of cute because it’s like “Yes, Mama has lived many lifetimes.” We started very, very young, and I was about 20 when our first album came out—that’s a lot of lives ago.

EW: When the Runaways movie was released earlier this year, so many people were dubbing it the story of the first female rock band. But even though your band was co-ed, I tend to think of Heart as one of the first true girl rock bands, because you didn’t have a Svengali-type figure like Kim Fowley…

NW: Well, there is a definite sound with all-girl bands, a good rudimentary sound, and that’s what’s cool and punk about all-girl bands, that you still find, largely—it’s really kind of primal. We’ve always been more …. weird compared to most bands, girls or no. We’re a pretty heavy rock band with an acoustic element, and I’m still trying to find one who compares, can you? [Laughs] So I guess we made our own category somehow.

EW: Did you feel like you had to fight a lot of sexism coming up, as women in hard rock, or did you feel that they welcomed you?

NW: It was definitely about skill. Starting out, we were quite little and we had no perception of what boys and girls were supposed to do, so we were basically aimed like pistols, without a sexual reference to go to. Unlike other rock people who had every battle to win, we had parents who said “You’re good at this, you could probably do this.” I think in some ways that was because of Ann’s naturally incredible voice—she was just way off the scale talent-wise, which our parents recognized as a gift. [Later though] it was like The Wizard of Oz: “I’d turn back if I were you! Tigers and bears, oh my…” because it is not a path I would advise most people to go.

I did go see the Runaways movie, though—I went to the premiere actually because I really wanted to see it, and I thought it was a really good movie. It was nothing like our experience, however. For one thing, we were West Coast suburban kids, and we grew up a few years earlier, coming out of a very mind-expanded early ‘70s era—that psychedelic, Beatles-y, homegrown sort of “anything is possible, change the world for the better with music” atmosphere… not a big-city, hard-knocks, druggie Svengali atmosphere. We had the idea as women that we could walk into music and be good at it, and be as good as any man, and have a career in it without being taken advantage of. So basically, those things came true. The obstacle course was just more difficult than we ever anticipated. We were optimistic and very naïve.

EW: I had read before that you wrote the song “Barracuda” in response to an ad your record company [at the time] released hinting that you and your sister were sexually involved..

NW: That’s absolutely true. We were that naïve and that idealistic that we were shocked that somebody would insinuate that it was not about the ethic of the music, and this sounds really silly maybe but coming from our era, the sexuality was more androgynous, it was all-encompassing. So when somebody implied to us, “Oh two girls, yeah!” it was a real old-man sexuality, and really insulting.

EW: So you’ve got this album of all new songs, Red Velvet Car, and some old material as well?

NW: Well, that’s a concert DVD that’s coming after the album, which is ten new songs.

EW: How do you create new music now, if you and Ann aren’t living in the same city?

NW: Well, I’m in LA, my kids are in school here. But I get on a plane and I go to Seattle, I go to where Ann is. And we woodshed at my farm near Seattle—we break out the guitars and microphones and cups of coffee and we’re just there with our notebooks and our poetry and everything we’ve tried to gather up in the previous year. All those ideas that kind of swirl around while you’re looking the other way, songs are writing themselves inside your soul, and we try to capture those things intentionally. All our new songs are definitely straight out of real life.

EW: What’s your favorite one on the album? Or is that like choosing a favorite kid?

NW: Wow, yeah. That’s an impossibility!

EW: Well, how about which one you’re looking forward to performing on the tour this summer?

NW:Well, my favorite one to perform is one that I get to sing called “Hey You,” and people are really responding well to it, it’s getting a lot of radio airplay at [mock-serious voice] adult contemporary. You gotta feel good about that. And the one called “WTF,” which is most-added on rock radio.

EW: Is it strange to have singles simultaneously in two such different formats?

NW: I think that’s the way things happen more these days. You have a song for iTunes, one for Amazon, maybe one you put out to radio for one demographic, maybe older people or rock radio, and one for another. But at our show, we have little kids, we have teenagers, college kids and people our age and people older than us, coming out to our shows. Heart is fun for the whole family! It’s really lovely to see the past connecting to the future.

EW: Are you working on anything currently with your husband?

NW:Not right now, because the plate is absolutely full with the new album and the tour. But yeah, at some point later I think once the album has been successfully delivered into the culture and the kids are back at school—you know there are so many musical directions I can take, and it’s beautiful to have so many musical opportunities. I don’t have to go work at a bank or go to a day job. I think my calling is to be a musician, and I hope I get to do that for the rest of my life.

EW: Speaking of generations, are there any newer artists you’ve been listening to lately?

NW: I really enjoy Owl City, you know, Adam Young? Pink I love, Lady Gaga is awesome. I really like a lot of the stuff my kids like, even though they can’t tell me who it is half the time, it’s all playlists [laughs]. But there’s some really great stuff that’s new—good songwriting and singing. Even though a lot of it can be digitally constructed, I think a lot of them, like Adam Young, use the digital construct in a way that sounds poetic and emotional, and that’s turned technology on its ear, in a way. We don’t really use that technology so much in Heart—we really sing, we really play, only live music. We don’t run ProTools at our shows, for instance, which is more rare these days then not. But I love some of this new stuff.


Source

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Nancy in US Weekly

Finally picked up my copy of US Weekly (dated Aug. 23rd). Here's the little snippet on Nancy :)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

First A&N Online Exclusive Review!!

Here we have it, the very first fan submitted review! I encourage anyone who comes to this site, if you've seen a recent show, please submit a review! As a fan, I really enjoy reviews that go into a lot of detail, I love seeing how excited the writer was just by their choice of words and descriptions. I feel like some of the reviews I read from the "pros" are a little dry sometimes. When my friends and I read about the shows we always love hearing about the little in between moments, Ann and Nancy's banter, there's so many sweet, wonderful moments in a show that I don't want to miss out on. And we always love hearing about the outfits :D Anyone who is interested in submitting, I really encourage you to pour your heart out, bring us to the place Ann and Nancy took you. :)

My first review is from none other than one of my very best friends, Mindy :D


August 6th 2010-A beautiful night in Pittsburgh. It was about 9pm when the band took the stage. The crowd went wild when Nancy came out and not long after there was Ann. That's when the crowd went absolutely insane. When she started walking towards the mic, you just knew all hell was about to break loose.

Starting with the setlist:

Cook with Fire--I was so very happy to find out this was added into the setlist months ago. Dog & Butterfly is one of my top Heart albums so hearing this live was a real treat. Oh she nailed it perfectly, so amazing. Oh and anytime Ann gets to play flute, yes please.

Heartless--I've always loved this song. Knowing some of these older songs were getting added just made the waiting seem even longer. But wow! So great to hear this one live. At one point during the song Ann was standing in front of her mic watching Nancy play then next thing you know she looks directly at me for at least 5 seconds with a huge smile on her face. At that moment it felt like I was the only one there. It's almost indescribable when someone you look up to so much acknowledges you for a few seconds like that. She's so beautiful in person.

Never--Love the way this is being done live. Nancy on harmonica! It's fun to see her doing that part.

Straight On--Once again, another song that I've always loved. I was just freaking out when Nancy started playing guitar and Ann wails "quite some timeeeeee!"

These Dreams--Oh Nancy and her beautiful songs. She's just as captivating standing there singing as she is jumping around with her guitar. Very nice to see Ben Mink joining them onstage!

Dog & Butterfly--The new arrangement is absolutely beautiful. I was not prepared for that at all..meaning the arrangement. The song is always beautiful no matter what. But that right there, oh my goodness.

Hey You--This is quickly becoming my favorite Nancy song. It's almost strange in a way just watching her stand so still for an entire song. But like I said before, she's so captivating no matter what. I love her playing the autoharp.

Red Velvet Car--These new songs are just amazing. Ann described what the song meant before they started playing and my eyes were welling up. She has such a way with words. I really do love this song.

Gimme Shelter/ Even It Up-- Fantastic! Ann put so much into this song..not like she doesn't anyways..but wowwwww. This is another time she looked at me too. She walked to our side of the stage and glanced down once again smiling. I think it was her intention to kill me that night haha.

In the Cool--LOVE! The lyrics are beautiful. Another wonderful new song. I can't wait for the album to come out. Just by hearing the 4 songs live you can tell it's going to be one of the best.

Alone--2 words: THE WAIL. Of all songs, this is the one I couldn't wait to witness live. Ann doesn't disappoint at all. Still amazing!

WTF--My new favorite song. This is another one they need to keep playing for years to come. I also couldn't wait to hear this one live too.

Magic Man--The beginning of a kick ass trio of songs. Loved this one! And I have to give Craig props here too, he tore it up on this song!

Crazy on You--Nancy did the intro right in front of us. After that things became a little fuzzy haha. Seeing it right in front of you is like nothing else. One advantage of sitting a little to the left. Just watching her play standing in one spot in front of you is amazing. Then there was the kick and skippy jumps...she's so adorable. Ann of course was incredible on this song.

Barracuda-- Amazing! I kept hearing about how Nancy just rocks so hard on this live and now I see what everyone means.

What Is And What Should Never Be-- First of all, they did intros before this song and they were so cute and sweet! Now for the song, HOLY COW! I never heard them do this before so it was a treat to hear something else different. Very impressed, they should do it more often!

Love, Reign O’er Me-- I haven't been reading any reviews for a long time so I had no clue this was recently thrown into the setlist replacing What About Love. I'm so glad I didn't know! Best surprise of the evening. I thought if I couldn't hear Mistral Wind this would definitely be at the top of my list because it's so incredible. Wouldn't you know it, soon as Debbie Shair hits the first notes on the keyboard I went absolutely nuts. I'm such a shy person but I even turned to the monger next to me and said "I didn't think they were going to do this!" Ann nails this song PERFECTLY everytime. Oh my! I was definitely on cloud 9 right then.

After they left the stage my dad and I went up by the stage where a small group of people were standing. I was hoping to get a setlist but people closer to the barrier had them already. One of the guys was throwing picks out and I just yelled "Come on!" and waved my hands around. He threw it our way, then it seemed to just disappear. I was so frantic saying find it, find it! The lady in front of us tells my dad to check his shirt pocket and sure enough, there it was!! I couldn't believe it had landed right in there. Of course now it is mine ;) One of my favorite things to happen that night was getting that pick. I have no clue if Nancy actually used it but either way it's awesome to get one.

I'll remember all the random cute/funny things from that night more than anything I'm sure. You're so in the moment that some things seem almost like a dream, never happening at all.

Ann cracks me up when she deepens her voice to joke around! She's an absolute joy to listen to just talking about stuff.

Nancy spins around so fast sometimes I think she's going to take off in flight with a guitar. She's so full of energy it's insane!

I didn't get to take a ton of pictures because the venue was so strict. But I managed to sneak in some pretty nice ones at the end.

I wish Ann and Nancy could know how much this night meant to me. They are so amazing. This was my first Heart concert and hopefully not my last.