Archive for the ‘Charity’ Category

beck interviewed for new elliott smith book

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007

From Spin:

Elliott Smith, the troubadour behind haunting acoustic compositions such as “Needle in the Hay” whose life came to an untimely end in 2003, will be memorialized with Elliott Smith, a 200-plus-page photo book compiled by renowned photographer Autumn de Wilde, the same lady behind the lens of the cover shot from the singer/songwriter’s 2000 album Figure 8. The book, also containing Smith’s handwritten lyrics and interviews from Ashley Welch, Smith’s sister, Beck, Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla (Death Cab), and Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), among others, will arrive in November courtesy of Chronicle Books, alongside a five song CD of previously unreleased live material. The project’s proceeds will be donated to the SIMS Foundation to supply affordable mental health care to musicians, and Outside In, a Portland, OR-based homeless youth non-profit group…

De Wilde then recorded chats with the likes of Beck and Walla — whose discussion on being photographed will become the book’s forward — Caws, and Welch, as well as Mark Flanagan, owner of L.A.’s Largo Club, Neil Gust (Heatmiser), Sam Coomes (Quasi/Heatmiser), producers Rob Schnapf and Jon Brion, and Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), the latter an individual who had never known Smith, but divulged the late musician’s deep influence unto his music.

Autumn De Wilde has worked with Beck on a number of occasions, I believe. I seem to remember her taking a whole bunch of photos for him and his albums. Anybody know which ones?

beck on new charity compilation

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

The NME is reporting that Beck will be included on a new charity compilation due out in May. His contribution will be Black Tambourine.

Kaiser Chiefs, Weezer and Beck are among the artists to feature on a brand new compilation CD put together by Lily Allen collaborator Mark Ronson.

Wolfmother, Ryan Adams and Scissors Sisters are also included on the CD, which is the first of a series of compilations put together by Ronson for Hard Rock Hotels.

The album which is released in May will also donate a dollar from each sale to the Water For Life charity an initiative from artist Jay-Z with the mission to bring clean drinking water throughout sub-Saharan Africa.