Tribute To Adam Schlesinger: A Music Celebration

 

It's been over two months since the live-stream broadcast of the tribute to Adam Schlesinger, that celebrated the life and music of this great artist who passed away in the spring of 2020. The tribute was touching and a wonderful compilation from friends, musicians and comedians who had a common bond and connection with Adam. Many of the contributions were video recordings of the musicians performing songs that Adam wrote either as a member of Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, Tinted Windows or music for soundtracks for film and TV. The performances were varied, some opting for a slicker edited "music video" style, some more casual in their home, recording studio, backyard, on the street and on a soundstage with Jody Porter's band supporting solo performances. Between segments, quotes from classic musicians were shown (Ray Davies, Brian Wilson), while other musicians/comedians spoke about Adam (Mickey Dolenz, Drew Carey, Sarah Silverman, Jody Porter, Eszter Balint). There were many highlights including Butch Walker's, wonderful performance of Guitar Center, an unreleased Adam song, a re-united Tinted Windows and both versions of That Thing You Do by Mike Viola (and band) and Bambi Kino.

 

Mike Viola

Jody Porter & The Berlin Wall

Sean Ono Lennon

Minus 5 (Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck)

Nicole Atkins

Butch Walker

 

I hesitated posting this broadcast since it was a paid show and in case the video and/or music would be officially released somewhere. I didn't record the video and I recorded the audio directly from the video feed. I separated the tracks and wrote up the setlist program, so if there are errors, please let me know and I'll correct them. To be honest, listening to the program is just as much or more enjoyable than the video, it's a good listen. If you want to watch the videos from the show, some have appeared on YouTube, search the individual artists or "Adam Schlesinger tribute" (I linked some with the photos), I've watched a lot of them already.

Enjoy!

Rachel Bloom w/ Jack Dolgen

Ben Kweller

Bretta Phillips w/Dean Wareham

Tinted Windows

Justin Courtney w/ Geoff Sanoff (Fred Armisen on drums)

Do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Please share!

 

 

Tribute to Adam Schlesinger: A Music Celebration (2021)
Various artists
Livestream
May 5, 2021

01. Intro/Fountains Of Wayne- Survival Car
02. Fountains Of Wayne- Richie And Ruben
03. Jody Porter
04. Jody Porter & The Berlin Waltz- Sink To The Bottom
05. Courtney Love- Hey Julie
06. Mike Viola- That Thing You Do
07. Ben Lee- Hackensack
08. Sean Lennon- Fire Island
09. Minus 5- I'll Say It
10. John Gallagher Jr.- Summer Place
11. Mickey Dolenz
12. Nicole Atkins- Laser Show
13. Michelle Branch w/Patrick Carney- It's The Best Thing
14. Chris Carrabba- Mexican Wine
15. Drew Carey
16. Butch Walker- Guitar Center
17. John Brodeur- Bright Future In Sales
18. Robert Schwartzman- Everything's Ruined
19. CJ Vanston w/Harry Shearer
20. Kelly Buchanan- I Hate To See You Like This
21. Jody Porter
22. Peter Himmelman- All Kinds Of Time
23. Rachel Bloom w/Jack Dolgen- Settle For Me
24. Eddie Baranek- I Was There
25. Fountains Of Wayne- Better Things
26. Diane Gentile- I-95
27. Ben Kweller- Denise
28. Joe McGinty- Utopia Parkway
29. Bretta Phillips w/Dean Wareham- Never Do That Again
30. Matthew Caws- Back In Our Town
31. Jody Porter intro/Eszter Balint- Traffic & Weather
32. The Still Out- Sick Day
33. Tinted Windows- Back with You
34. Sarah Silverman
35. Justin Courtney w/ Geoff Sanoff (Fred Armisen on drums)- It Must Be Summer
36. Jesse Malin- Hey Julie
37. Glenn Tilbrook- Hackensack
38. Bambi Kino- That Thing You Do
39. Jody Porter & The Berlin Wall- Little Red Light

Tracks 10, 17, 20, 26, 31, 36- backed by the Berlin Wall

 

Adam Schlesinger Tribute- A Music Celebration 2021 FLAC. rar 

 

Fountains Of Wayne- Hoboken, NJ 2009/Adam Schlesinger Tribute

 

It's been over a year (and month) since Adam Schlesinger from Fountains Of Wayne died of complications from COVID-19. The remaining members of the band and Sharon Van Etten, filling in for Adam on bass, reunited for the Jersey 4 Jersey livestream benefit in late April 2020 as a tribute to Adam. They performed (in isolation), Hackensack.

 

A tribute concert, Adam Schlesinger: Music Celebration is set for tomorrow, Wednesday, May 5th at 8pm (Eastern) and will air online via Rolling Live Studios featuring an all-star lineup. Performers confirmed for the show include, Jody Porter, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Courtney Love, Mickey Dolenez (from the Monkees), Ben Kweller, Ben Lee, some Tinted Windows (James Iha, Taylor Hanson) and many many more amazing guests. This will be an incredible night celebrating the music of Adam Schlesinger. Expect to hear songs from the catalog of Fountains of Wayne, Tinted Windows, soundtrack tunes from That Thing You Do and Crazy Ex-girlfriend, maybe some Ivy and more! Wow, should be great! Tickets are an affordable $25 available from Rolling Live Studios. Net proceeds go to The Bowery Electric (shuttered venue) and MusiCares (for struggling musicians).

Last spring, there was an outpouring flood of live Fountains of Wayne shows on Dime following Adam's death and I was fortunate enough to download shared shows I didn't have already. There are so many great concerts to choose from, but some of my favourites were from the band's full band acoustic tour in 2009. This stripped down live presentation sounds quite full and the songs didn't lose any power performed acoustically, in fact it showcased the quality of their songwriting and their strong musicianship. These shows are fun to listen to with the band more relaxed and casual with more interaction with their audience. A good example of one of these shows is the concert I'm posting, a great sounding show from Maxwells in Hoboken, NJ. highlights include an interesting rendition of Stacy's Mom and the classic rock medley during Radiation Vibe, which are always tons of fun!

Enjoy!

(thanks to Scott Bernstein for recording, mastering and tracking the show, the original poster and the reseeder!)

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

Please share!!

 

 

Fountains Of Wayne
Maxwells
Hoboken, NJ
June 29, 2009
acoustic

DPA 4021(cardioid, in hat)->Battery Box->Sound Devices 722 (@24/96)

FLAC File processing in SoundForge Audio Studio 9.0c (LOUD clap removal, Peak Level Normalize to 0db then resample to 44.1 with interpolation accuracy 4, anti-alias filter then 24->16 bit highpass triangular dither with high pass contour noise shaping); Tracked in CDWav.

1. intro music/tuning
2. Please Don't Rock Me Tonight
3. Little Red Light
4. Someone To Love
5. The Summer Place
6. Fire Island
7. Cold Comfort Flowers
8. Hey Julie
9. A Road Song
10.Red Dragon Tattoo
11.Barbara H (w/"Under Pressure" bass intro)
12.I95
13.Fire In The Canyon +
14.Half A Woman
15.Bright Future In Sales
16.Radiation Vibe (w/Beat It, Yes song [Roundabout?], Jet Airliner)
17.encore break
18.Cemetary Guns
19.Stacy's Mom
20.Joe Rey

+ = w/Mike Viola (vocals and guitar) & Kelly Jones (vocals)

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE- 2009-06-29 Hoboken, NJ FLAC. rar

The Pinwheel Sessions- An Upgrade (Pre-FOW)

Several years ago I posted the Pinnwheel (or Pinwheel?) demos, recordings from Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger before they formed Fountains of Wayne. Since Adam's untimely death over three weeks ago, I noticed a sudden interest from that posting which led me to have another listen. I was surprised how good the songs are and the sound quality was fairly polished for demos. My only concern was they were sourced from mp3 and I had always hoped I can seek out the lossless version for possibly better sound quality. I must have been thinking out loud because someone posted the FLAC (lossless) version on Dime (it has since mysteriously disappeared from a couple days ago...?). They were converted from WAV files, so consider this an upgrade over the previous version I posted. I'm listening to the files right now and it sounds a bit fresher and slightly less glitchy. Honestly, it probably won't be obvious or you might not hear a real difference, so listen and judge for yourself.
Enjoy!

• (Note: In the text file it says it includes the Loftypop Demos, it does not. If anyone has any information about those, please share.)
• These demos are believed to be recorded as early as 1986 or as late as 1992. Another source says 1993, so take these dates as an "estimate".

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy format (except for personal use)
Please share!


Pinwheel or Pinnwheel? (pre-Fountains of Wayne)
"The Pinwheel Sessions" (1993?)

Source:     ANA (generation unknown) > CDR
Transfer:     CDR (generation unknown) > WAV (Exact Audio Copy)
flac:        WAV > flac 1.1.0
Transfer by:    Pete Rosenblum (pmppk)

1.  I Will Never Let You Down
2.  Sinking Fast
3.  Some Girls Tell Lies
4.  Loveland
5.  Bluer Than Blue
6.  Silvertown
7.  Pollen Street
8.  Troubled Times
9.  I Know You Well
10. Slave to Your Misery
11. Cry One Tear
12. Imperia
13. Half a Woman

Note: There is a skip in track 12 that is present in all known circulated copies.
Total Running Time: Once Disc (61:09)

PINWHEEL- Pinwheel Sessions FLAC. rar 

R.I.P. Adam Schlesinger: Fountains of Wayne- The Cookie Jar

So far COVID-19 has claimed many, many lives throughout the world and it really hits home when someone you admire and respect musically is taken by this deadly virus. Adam Schlesinger from the band, Fountains of Wayne died in hospital Wednesday from complications related to COVID-19. This is particularly sad as he had been hospitalized and was on a ventilator for the past two weeks. I read a report a few days earlier saying that he was not in a induced coma (report of that days earlier), but was on a ventilator in hospital then was back at home. Apparently that was not the case and with the virus rapidly spreading, especially in New York state, this was not a surprise, but it was shocking. I had been on a revived Fountains of Wayne kick for the past month well before things grew grim and yesterday all day I listened to the first 4 Ivy albums, another band Schlesinger was a member of. Apart from Fountains Of Wayne, he has kept busy with projects in TV and film and he is widely respected for his talent that has earned him 3 Emmy Awards and a Oscar as well he has been nominated for Tony and Golden Globe awards (and more Emmy/Oscars).

Instead of a posting a Fountains of Wayne show, I have a compilation of tracks that were B-sides, bonus tracks and songs from TV shows and movies. Schlesinger before and after the band disbanded was very prolific with his work in TV and film especially in the past 10 years, so there could be another compilation or playlist to be made. The Cookie Jar is not an official release, but was a compilation I found on the great music blog, Pop Fair. It was posted in 2011 just a few months before they're final album, Sky Full Of Holes was released. Thanks Pop Fair for compiling these tracks and since the link to download is inactive, I thought I would (attempt) to share it here. This is a fine companion piece to, Out-of-State Plates (b-sides, unreleased tracks) and continues where that album left of. Some interesting tracks, some very short songs, some cool covers and a couple of gems. The Kinks cover, Better Things is wonderful and the Hollies and Moody Blues covers are very faithful to the originals. This gathered together some odds and ends and hopefully in time more seldom heard (or unreleased) Fountains of Wayne tracks become available. R.I.P. Adam Schlesinger.
Enjoy!

In case you missed it the first time. Here's the link to the previous post of Fountains of Wayne in Minneapolis:
Fountains of Wayne- 2007-06-13 First Avenue, Mpls, MN


Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording
The Cookie Jar- unfortunately is in mp3 format (sorry no FLAC)

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
The Cookie Jar
Newer B-sides and TV Tracks

1. Sense Into You - Japanese bonus track from "Traffic and Weather"
2. The Story In Your Eyes - Moody Blues cover, bonus track from "Sky Full of Holes"
3. Cookie Jar - Chris Collingwood song from "Ciao My Shining Store" compilation
4. You Gotta Go - Japanese bonus track from "Traffic and Weather"
5. Bus Stop - Hollies cover from "American Dreams" NBC Show
6. Too Cool For School - From "Scary Movie" soundtrack
7. Song of the Passaic - Bonus track from "Sky Full of Holes"
8. Monster House - Written for "Monster House" movie but not used.
9. Better Things - Kinks cover from "This is Where I Belong" Kinks tribute
10. Tell Me What You Already Did - From "Robots" soundtrack
11. Crank Yankers - from "Crank Yankers" show on Comedy Central
12. Joe Stein - from “Hey Joel” VH1 show
13. Bad Neighborhood - from “Hey Joel” VH1 show
14. Captive Audience - from “Hey Joel” VH1 show
15. A Busty Lad - from “Hey Joel” VH1 show
16. Androdgyny - from “Hey Joel” VH1 show

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE- The Cookie Jar. rar

Fountains Of Wayne- First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN June 13, 2007

Ten years ago, in June, I happened to be in the Twin Cities for a pair of concerts I was fortunate enough to get tickets to. I wrote about this trip, Lots To See In Minneapolis and St. Paul where I posted excerpts from the MPR's The Current Fakebook series featuring Laura Lindeen's book launch concert held in the amazing Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul. Laura was promoting her memoir, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story, which included her time living in the Minneapolis music scene of the late 80's and 90's. At the time, Laura was married to Paul Westerberg which of course peaked my interest and to accompany readings and a live on stage interview, music guests performed during this book launch/reading/concert event. Guests included, Mark Olson (of the Jayhawks and Creekdippers), Marc Perlman, Steve Wynn, Westerberg and a two song reunion by Lindeen's former band, Zuzu's Petals. As it happens, I didn't buy the book, but I did borrow it from the library a couple summers ago and it was a very interesting read. Kinda glad I waited because I became much more familiar with Zuzu's Petals before I read the book and I knew Laura and Paul had since split (sad to hear).

The other concert I mentioned, but failed to follow up with on "the next post", was Fountains of Wayne on June 13, 2007 at the First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. What I remember most about the show was that it was hot and humid and pressed together tightly in the crowd standing on the floor of the club. The Broken West opened and they were fantastic! Their debut album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On, is a great album and was on heavy rotation at work and on my iPod. They put on an energetic set of brilliant power pop, a perfect pairing with Fountains Of Wayne. I recorded their set as well, if anyone is interested.

If you've ever been to the First Ave (at least in 2007), they roll down a screen in front of the stage to screen short films and video while the band sets up behind the screen. It caught me off guard when a recorded Traffic and Weather intro began before they launched into I've Got Flair. I don't think I missed much of the intro, but it gets tricky when the lights go out and I have to tweak settings on my recorder. Another reason why a mini flashlight is a must have to carry when taping. I suffered a near recording mishap when I saw Paul Westerberg at the Guthrie Theatre in 2002 when the lights went out at the beginning of the concert and I couldn't see my recorder (mini-disc recorder back light stays on a very short time) and I had to unplug the mic and crawl on the floor down the aisle to the the lights on the stairs to adjust the settings. Embarrassing and stupid, always carry a flashlight!

Remembering back ten years, I recalled what a great live band Fountains Of Wayne are. Though they don't boast the most visually stunning stage show, they play to their strengths. They keep the banter light and funny, they have a cool casual persona about them even with Jody's "rock star swagger" and they delivered a great set of music. Despite the commercial over-saturation of their "hit", Stacy's Mom, Welcome Interstate Managers is a classic album. Every song has a memorable hook and it's their most consistent effort yet. The album they toured in 2007, Traffic and Weather has definitely grown on me through the years and it was exciting to hear some of the tracks live.

About a month ago I was listening to another FOW live recording and it suddenly dawned on me, what happened to my recording of FOW when I saw them in 2007? I realized I never actually transferred the show from mini-disc to my hard drive or at least burned a disc from it. The other concert I saw in the Twin Cities that weekend (Laura Lindeen) was apparently my immediate priority and I apologize for taking so long to post this show.I dug up the disc and replaced an old corroded battery out of the mini-disc player and gave it a listen. A couple weeks later I uploaded the concert. The sound is pretty good considering the crowd I was standing in and despite the surrounding chatter I'm happy with the recording. I've never seen another live recording of the show and my version has never been shared (or heard by anyone but me) or traded anywhere until now.

Note: The poster pictured at the top of this post I bought at the concert. That too was almost forgotten as I've yet to get around framing it. Don't get too excited, it's signed by members of the band, not Fountains of Wayne, but the openers, The Broken West. They were more than happy to sign the poster, nice guys!
Enjoy!!

Please do NOT sell!
Share, but don't share in mp3, keep it lossless.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
June 13, 2007
AUD MASTER

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Sharp MD-MT90> ADS Instant Music> USB>
Nero Soundtrax> Wav> Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar

01. I've Got A Flair
02. No Better Place
03. Denise
04. Someone To Love
05. Fire In The Canyon
06. Hackensack
07. Hey Julie
08. Strapped For Cash
09. Yolanda Hayes
10. Mexican Wine
11. I-95
12. It Must Be Summer
13. Stacy's Mom
14. Radiation Vibe
15. Survival Car

Encore
16. Traffic And Weather
17. Red Dragon Tattoo
18. Leave The Biker

Encore 2
19. Half A Woman
20. Valley Winter Song
21. Sink To The Bottom

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE- 2007-06-13 First Avenue, Mpls, MN Master FLAC. rar

Before We Was Famous: Fountains Of Wayne (Pinnwheel)

If you are a fan of Fountains Of Wayne, you may have heard about this set of demos recorded by the band Pinnwheel, the same members that later went on to record as Fountains Of Wayne. These thirteen songs were recorded sometime in the late 80's or the early 90's. When these songs failed to generate interest, Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger split and formed separate bands only to later reunite and change their name to FOW and the rest is history. Four of the songs here would later be re-recorded and appear on later albums, another track, Cry One Tear was later recorded by Collingwood's side-project band, Gay Potatoes. That means eight of these songs have never been released and remain exclusive to this set. The sound on this collection is surprisingly polished and definitely has that FOW sound, it's not a bad set of songs except none of the them especially stand out. If you're a diehard fan, this is a must listen (at least for historic reasons), but if you're new to Fountains Of Wayne, start with their debut and work you're way forward.

PINNWHEEL (Pre-Fountains Of Wayne)
Pinnwheel Demos

1. Raise The River
2. Fading Fast
3. Some Girls Tell Lies
4. Loveland
5. Bluer Than Blue
6. Silvertown
7. Holland Street
8. Troubled Times
9. I Knew You Well
10. Slave To Your Misery
11. Cry One Tear
12. Imperia
13. Half A Woman

I have also uploaded the whole file in .rar format, you have the option of downloading the individual files or the complete file.
Download: Pinnwheel. rar

Note: I have recently re-upped the files since I was informed the links don't work...try it now. (March 10, 2012)