5GB With Jared Blake; Playing Hard Rock Cafe Nashville’s IMAGINE There’s No Hunger Event, Dec. 11

By Eileen Tilson/ @tktalt_tn

IMAGINE!  Join the Hard Rock Cafe Nashville on De. 11  as part of the Hard Rock International’s 2011 global IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER campaign, which is supported by John Lennon’s wife, artist and musician Yoko Ono Lennon, to combat childhood hunger and poverty around the world.  Dedicated to the brand’s “All is One” core value, proceeds from Hard Rock’s campaign will directly benefit WhyHunger, a leader in building the global movement to end hunger and poverty, and its grassroots partners around the globe in hopes of finding long-term solutions through sustainable agriculture. With an amazing lineup consisting of Tiffany, Lukas Rossi, Bonnie Bishop, Jared Blake, Shawn Mayer and Mark Collie, this is a show not to be missed!

We will be interviewing all the amazing artists performing that night before the big show on Sunday. First up is country singer and The Voice contestant, the hilarious Jared Blake!

What was the first gig you ever went to?

I didn’t get far from my small town growing up. My family only traveled to Branson, MO. That being a show town, I’m sure that’s where I experienced seeing my first gig. And, it would have been an Ozark-hillilly-mountain-folk type band. I am positive that it was in a cave.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed at?

My first gig after being on the tv show, The Voice was in a small town outside of Tacoma, WA. It was about 200 people at a pizza joint (Louie G’s) that had a great stage in the back. It was my first experience in a town I had never been to, or known anyone, and fans were singing my original songs along with me. I’ll always remember that.

What is the best gig you have ever been to?

Oh man, this is where the violins come in. I’ve always been either too broke, busy taking care of my kids, or out working myself. I haven’t been out to see a lot of my idols. I do buy all of their music though.

Gig you would most like to play?

I’d love to play at The Grammys, where you can pull out all the stops! Where it relates your success and acceptance to an industry, and I can put on the kind of grand show I’ve always wanted to. I mean, where else can you have an entire orchestra with you to pop out from behind a curtain?

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

I’d open for Guns N Roses, Kid Rock, Bob Segar, and Johnny Cash.  After all, what could be better than bringing a legend back from the dead for one last show? At, Disneyland. I hear that where dreams come true.

Catch Jared Blake and the rest of the crew Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Hard Rock Cafe Nashville

Hard Rock Cafe’s Velvet Underground in Atlanta Raises Money for Imagine There’s No Hunger

Atlanta’s Velvet Underground at Hard Rock Cafe is doing their part to raise money for the great charity WHY, which was started by radio talk show host Bill Ayers and the late singer-songwriter Harry Chapin. Velvet Underground is throwing shows in conjunction with their Imagine There’s No Hunger campaign, and the money will be going to fight hunger and poverty around the world, focusing on Haiti, Kenya, Thailand and India.

Ticket prices include three (or more) cans of food. Those who don’t bring the cans of food on the day of the show will have to pay the remainder of the day of show ticket price.

Velvet Underground will be throwing two shows to raise money for Imagine There’s No Hunger:

Tyler Bates plays with Emily Lynch and The Daniel Lee Band on November 26.

Elevation plays with Shirock and Asherel on December 17.

4th Annual Songwriters Series: Tribute to Kenny Chesney at the Hard Rock Cafe Nashville – June 10-12

Hard Rock Cafe Nashville hosts the 4th Annual Songwriters Series, a three-night tip-of-the-cowboy hat to Nashville’s top songwriters and a special tribute to country music superstar Kenny Chesney, June 10-12.

Held in Hard Rock Cafe Nashville’s new Reverb Room, proceeds from each show will benefit Musicians On Call (MOC), a nonprofit organization that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in health care facilities in Nashville and across the country.

Thursday, June 10, 2010
Songwriters Series: Kenny Chesney Tribute
This year, the Songwriters Series kicks off with a tribute to Kenny Chesney. Hit songwriters Mac McAnally, Craig Wiseman, Brett James, Neil Thrasher, Wendell Mobley, and Casey Beathard will share stories about how their songs were cut by today’s biggest country superstar. The entire special show will be broadcast LIVE on Kenny’s very own internet radio station, No Shoes Radio!

Friday, June 11, 2010
ASCAP Songwriters in the Round
Featuring: Chris Tompkins, David Berg, Craig Wiseman, Marc Beeson, Kyle Jacobs

Saturday, June 12, 2010
BMI Songwriters in the Round
Featuring: Dallas Davidson, Tom Douglas, and Wynn Varble (And surprise guests!)

Ticket Alternative’s Iain Bluett To Judge Ambassadors of Rock Battle of the Bands at Hard Rock Cafe Atlanta!

Our very own Iain Bluett, co-founder of Ticket Alternative, will be on hand at the Ambassadors of Rock Battle of the Bands at Hard Rock Cafe Atlanta tomorrow, April 14, to judge the second round! The free event will see local bands rocking out to win a spot at Hard Rock Calling, the British music festival taking place at the legendary Hyde Park in London this June. That means sharing the bill with the likes of Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, Wolf Mother and more.

There are battles going on at Hard Rock Cafes around the country, and the winners from each battle will be judged by a panel headed by Little Steven Van Zandt, of the E Street Band. The finalists from that round will go on to the final voting round, which will see the fans pick the winner. More information is available at www.atlantasrockstation.com or www.hardrock.com – see you there!

Hard Rock Cafe Memphis Joins Ticket Alternative!

We have some great news! Memphis Hard Rock Cafe has just joined the Ticket Alternative family – and we already have a couple of gigs lined up!

Tantric – April 8

Evans Blue – April 28

Here’s a little bit about the venue and the fabulous location of Memphis:

As artist Billy Swan sang, “Memphis Rocks!” Located in the cotton-trading capital of the Delta, Memphis virtually invented blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. Once well-known for heavy gambling, voodoo, murder and prostitution, Memphis is just a hard-rocking place where you can get great food and hear hot tunes. Home to both Sun Records and Stax Records, this city has always been foremost in finding talent, and the rollicking live music scene is still kicking hard today. Maybe that’s why Memphis is mentioned in more songs than just about any other city. So if you’re out “Walking In Memphis” on the “Memphis Streets” and you get yourself a mean case of the “Walkin’ Blues,” just do the electric slide or “Memphis Boogie” right on into the Hard Rock Cafe Memphis and let us ease you into “Memphis Bliss.”

Our historic building, set on boogie street Beale, has done time as a recording studio and a saloon – the perfect combination for an electrifying menu that’ll make you stomp and shout. Memphis was also Elvis’s home, and the only place he ever felt he belonged. So come on down, y’all, for a taste of Southern hospitality and “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” ’cause you’re bound to soon feel the exact same way. And while Elvis may have left the building (on a “Memphis Train?”), you can stay as long as you want. It’s a “Memphis Thing.”

An Acoustic Performance with Staind’s Aaron Lewis and Saving Abel at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, March 29

Aaron Lewis, frontman for hard-rock band Staind, is traveling light these days. With his acoustic guitar and a suitcase full of songs, Lewis is on tour performing a more intimate version of the hits that made Staind one of the biggest bands of the last decade.

For fans of Staind, hearing “Outside,” “It’s Been a While,” and “Intro” acoustically, is like hearing them for the first time – completely raw and full of emotion. Lewis has been known to “wing it” and go out on stage without a set list and play whatever comes to him at the moment. If the song is fits the night, he’ll even take an audience request or two.

Mississippi’s Saving Abel joins Aaron Lewis on his acoustic tour this Monday, March 29  at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville, Tenn.