Celtic Woman ? musical band, formed by five Irish and a New Zealander female artist, offers music ranging from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs. Chloe Agnew is a part of the band as a vocalist along with Orla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, Meav Ni Mhaolchatha and Hayley Westenra. The band also includes a violinist Mairead Nesbitt.
Celtic music is known to be the music of Ireland or Europe. Artists Enya and Clannad hold the title, to introduce Celtic music to rest of the world. Celtic Woman introduced it together with theatrical performance of ?River-dance? and ?Lord of the Dance? because of which they have been referred to as the ?River-dance for the voice?.
So far, the group has to its credit three albums named ?Celtic Woman?, ?Celtic Woman - A Christmas Celebration? and ?Celtic Woman - A New Journey? and have been on several world tours.
Arranged by producer - Sharon Browne, Chairman and CEO - Dave Kavanagh and music director and composer - David Downes, Celtic Woman was recorded at The Helix, Dublin, Ireland on 15 September 2004 in front of a sell-out audience. Since it was recorded for PBS Television thus, was first broadcasted in United States in March 2005. Shortly, the group's debut album ?Celtic Woman? was on top of the Billboard's World Music chart, remained there until 22 July 2006 (68 weeks), and held the top ranking for a total of 81 weeks breaking any other long-standing record for any album. PBS media hype throughout 2005 is said to be the main reason for success of the group in United States. The live performance at The Helix was released on DVD together with the studio album.
On 19 October 2006, The release of the second album ?Celtic Woman - A Christmas Celebration? hammered out their first album to the #2 spot on the World Music chart. Celtic Woman performed at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland on 23 and 24 August 2006, in order to prepare for their third studio album, which was broadcasted on PBS in December 2006. On 30 January 2007 the studio album titled ?Celtic Woman: A New Journey?, was released, together with the release of their live performance on DVD. The album instantly hit the Billboard 200 at number 4 and topped the Billboard World Music chart again; however, it knocked out their earlier two releases down a spot. The band now secured the top three positions on Billboard World Music Chart.
The Chairman and CEO of Celtic Woman - Dave Kavanagh, together with EMI has shaped Celtic Woman into an International success. Celtic Woman reveals the unique voices and styles of each of the girls as soloists as well as fantastic band numbers. The talented four Irish female vocalists and the electrifying violinist of Celtic Woman with Composer & Music Director - David Downes, have shaped a breathtaking musical experience.
Since their debut in March 2005, Celtic Woman has made a great impact on audience in United States. They have achieved a lot in a very less time a list of which is as follows: ? Their first PBS special has been aired over 3400 times on 316 PBS stations nationwide since its March 2005 debut. ? Their self-titled debut CD and DVD have been certified platinum in United States. ? They have performed four incredibly booming U.S concert tours, including sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall, Carnagie Hall, Boston?s Opera House and the Greek Theatre in LA. ? Their debut album Celtic Woman has held the number one position on the Billboard World Music chart for over 95 consecutive weeks. ? They have appeared on The Today Show, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Megan Mullaly show and on Brian Boitano?s Skating Spectacular that aired on NBC on New Year?s Eve 2007.
Globally, Celtic Woman?s debut CD has gone platinum in South Africa and ?A Christmas Celebration? has been certified gold. The DVD has also been certified gold in Australia along with CD in Japan. Germany, Canada & New Zealand are also very strong markets for the band.
It is now time to take A NEW JOURNEY with Celtic Woman! This female Irish group of adorable voices has recorded a brand new studio album offering the trademark Celtic Woman sound, which has had a huge impact not only in the US but also in many countries around the world including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa & Germany. The album is an impressive collection of modern-day hits such as ?Beyond the Sea?, ?The Prayer?, ?Scarborough Fair?, ?Over the Rainbow?, old favorites ?Lascia Ch?io Pianga?, ?Vivaldi?s Rain? and Irish standards ?D?laman?, ?At the Ceili?, ?Caledonia? and ?Mo Ghile Mear?.
Since the debut of their first PBS TV special in March 2005, Celtic Woman has turned into a public television stir. Up till now, their debut program has aired over 3400 times on 316 PBS stations (a total of 93% of the PBS stations in America) making it one of the most successful PBS fundraising shows in the previous year.
On December 2, 2006, Celtic Woman?s new TV special - A New Journey, was covered by 90% of PBS during the December pledge period, setting up a new record for their success on PBS. The live concert was filmed at Slane Castle - the home of Lord Henry Mount Charles, in County Meath, Ireland (a venue that has also hosted concerts by U2, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen
For more information about Celtic Woman Tickets visit:
http://www.ticketluck.com/concert-tickets/Celtic-Woman/index.php
Celtic Woman Tickets
Jimmy Eat World Tickets- Jimmy Eat World Celebrates Clarity Anniversary
If you are an emo music fan your collection is not complete without Jimmy Eat World's 1999 album Clarity. The band is celebrating the album's 10th anniversary with a ten-show tour that kicks off Feb. 23 in New York and concludes March 7 in Tempe, Arizona after making stops in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and San Diego. Although Clarity debuted at No. 30 in Billboard's Heatseekers chart and only remained there for two weeks (signal Jimmy Eat World's departure from Capitol Records), the album has since become iconic for a new generation of rock fans, all of whom will be sure to help them celebrate on tour. For your chance to see the band, who has paved the way for acts like Dashboard Confessional and Yellowcard, try http://www.stubhub.com for Jimmy Eat World tickets. The 2009 tour will be supported by Reuben's Accomplice for the first seven shows and the final three dates will feature the reunited San Diego band No Knife as opener.
Jimmy Eat World formed in 1994 the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, AZ and was originally comprised of Jim Adkins (vocals, guitar), Zach Lind (drums), Tom Linton (guitar, vocals) and Mitch Porter (bass). Their quirky moniker comes from an argument between Linton's younger brothers, Jimmy and Ed, in which the usually-defeated Ed drew a picture of his beefy, victorious brother eating the world. In their first year Jimmy Eat World released several EPS and singles on local imprint Wooden Blue Records before scoring a contract with major-label Capitol. Porter exited the group, with Rick Burch stepping in to record Jimmy Eat World's major debut, 1996's Static Prevails. Three years, a switch to an emo sound, and the emergence of Adkins as lead singer later, the band released their ambitious sophomore album, Clarity. The album's initial popularity was marred by Capitol's unwillingness to promote the album due to the departure of label president Gary Gersh. Capitol refused to release the album but was forced to when "Lucky Denver Mint" and other singles became radio mainstays.
Tensions between Jimmy Eat World and Capitol ran high when the label refused to release their third LP, Jimmy Eat World, culminating in their departure. After experiencing success overseas, the band issued Bleed America (which was changed to an eponymous title after September 11) in 2001 and its singles "The Middle," "Sweetness" and "A Praise Chorus" propelled them into the big time. After a short stint at Dreamworks, Jimmy Eat World moved to Interscope for the 2004 release of their fifth album, Futures, which went gold on the strength of "Pain." Next up, Jimmy Eat World released the Stay on My Side EP followed by the LP Chase This Light, which featured vet producer Butch Vig (known for his work on legendary Nirvana album Nevermind and the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream. Chase the Light was released in 2007 on the heels of lead single "Big Casino." Hurry up and get your Jimmy Eat World tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/jimmy-eat-world-tickets/ to see the band celebrate their most cherished album live!
Why "moving in Stereo" is One of the Greatest Hits of All Time
Moving in Stereo, not that's awesome. "Moving in Stereo" is a song done by the band 'The Cars', featuring lead vocalist, Benjamin Orr. It was part of the album by the same name as the band, released in 1978. 'Moving in Stereo' is one of the few songs of The Cars co-written by the band's keyboardist Greg Hawkes.
New Wave was a form of rock music that existed in the late 70s and the early-to-mid 80s. It has its roots in punk rock, and evolved as a reaction against popular music in the 70s. It was influenced by various aspects like pre-hippie rock 'n roll styles, ska, power pop, reggae, funk, electronic music, etc.
Some of the New Wave artists worth mentioning are The B-52's, , Squeeze Blondie, Devo, The Boomtown Rats, Elvis Costello, The Police, XTC, Talking Heads, and of course, The Cars. Songs like 'Moving in Stereo' and 'All mixed up' were some of the all time hits of New Wave music.
The song was never released as a single, nor was it part of any Billboard charts, but was extremely popular on American FM rock stations. In the original album, 'Moving in Stereo' and the final song 'All Mixed Up' seem to be one song, as there is no definite gap between the songs, and 'Moving in Stereo' seems to continue into 'All Mixed Up'. The radio stations AOR and Classic Rock usually play both the songs together as one track. In both the songs, Benjamin Orr, who is the band's lead guitarist, does the vocals as well.
The Album was number 18 in the Billboard pop albums in the year 1979, and 158 in the Billboard top 200 in the year 1984.
The song uses a number of studio production techniques to move the sound between the speakers. Because of this, it is known to be a great song to listen to on headphones. It is also one of the very few songs to feature the word 'tremolo', which means to manipulate a single note."Moving in Stereo" is also featured in the movie "Fast times at Ridgemont High", though it didn't appear on the soundtrack.
The Song is also heard on various TV shows. In Alias, it appears in the episode titled 'Double Agent'. In Family Guy, it features in the episode 'The Kiss Seen around the World'. In Scrubs, the episode 'My Own Personal Jesus'. In Drawn Together, the episode titled 'The Other Cousin'. In The Sopranos, it features in the episode 'All Happy Families'.
The Cars are a new wave band in the 70s, and their 1978 album of the same title was labelled by Elektra Records. The Band consisted of two guitarists Ric Ocasek and Elliot Easton, a bassist and singer of 'Moving in Stereo' Benjamin Orr, Keyboardist and co-writer of 'Moving in stereo' Greg Hawkes, and drummer David Robinson. They came together as a band in Boston, Massachusetts.
This song was one of the greatest hits of all time, appearing on multiple billboard charts, throughout the 70s and 80s.
Moving in Stereo- what do you think?
Q&A with Michael Maxxis
At 26, Michael Maxxis has established himself as an original and highly sought-after director of music videos. His vids are full of forceful, sometimes nightmarish imagery, captured with precise lighting, carefully chosen locations and lush color schemes. He's worked with the kick-ass LGBT band The Cliks, the Nu metal band P.O.D. and alt-rockers OURS, among others. He's traveled around the world, from Spain to the Salton Sea.
Originally from Canada, Maxxis's success story is about more than natural ability. It's also about finding a scene you're interested in, networking with people, following good advice and working at it until your fingers bleed. In other words, the path to success for just about any indie filmmaker.
Maxxis recently spoke with Openfilm about working with The Cliks, shooting in Spain and directing his first short film, Steak and Milk. Most of the photographs on this page were taken by him.
What formal training do you have? Did you go to film school?
I actually have no formal training. I studied business in university. I just learned the craft by diving in head first, making all sorts of mistakes, and learning from them. I was lucky to meet a couple great mentors who I spent a lot of time with and learned from.
How did you get into the music video business?
Just one of those things that seemed meant to be. I've always enjoyed being out at night and from that, got to know a bunch of bands - a couple of them were crazy enough to let me make their music videos for them, and in the end it turned out alright.
Once you know what the song will be, what happens next? Does the band have any input on what the video will be about?
When I'm sent a track to write on, I'm also sent a "brief". This outlines what the band and label are looking for. Sometimes they have all sorts of ideas, but most the time it's pretty open. If I don't like their ideas, then I pass on the job - if someone knows so specifically what they want, then I honestly think they should direct the video themselves, otherwise they'll never be happy with it. I definitely prefer situations that are a bit more collaborative - especially when I'm working with a band that I don't know really well. The back-and-forth usually always leads to a better product in the end.
All of your videos show an impressive use of camera, lighting and design. How do you work with your crew to achieve the look you want?
It's a combination of things, but more than anything, it's just understanding how all the gear works and understanding the concept of lighting. The look is VERY important to me, since I believe it has perhaps the most significant influence on the emotional response the viewer gets from a scene. And really, making videos or films is all about affecting people's emotions.
Do you gather a lot of references?
Sometimes, but to be honest, I'm not much of a student of the arts. I grew up loving hockey and action movies, and could care less about paintings and poems. So, my catalogue of references is somewhat limited, but I actually think this works to my advantage, as it leads to more of an original style.
You shot Worst Things Beautiful for OURS in Valencia, Spain. Talk about that experience.
It was pretty much a big vacation. Sure, we shot for 15 hours a day for 3 days, but everyone involved were already great friends from before. Conceptually, it was a bit of a letdown, as we went there to film during the Las Fallas festival, which is supposed to be all about building and then burning satirical and metaphorical effigies. The concept was for the payoff to be performance footage of Jimmy (Gnecco) singing in front of these giant, symbolic, burning structures, but the year we showed up happened to be the 1st year that Disney decided to sponsor the thing. So, the large majority of the figures were characters from Disney films and not at all worth filming. It forced us to change the idea a bit, and make it more about the journey and walking around footage.
I'm a fan of The Cliks. What was it like working with them?
Well, I only really spent a lot of time with Lucas (Silveira), because he came down to New Orleans for the narrative stuff. He was really cool and easy to work with. We shot in New Orleans in the middle of the summer, so it was a pretty grueling shoot for all of us, but in the end it was a very rewarding job. The performance footage was all shot in Toronto in a half day, so I didn't have a ton of time to get to know the band.
Your videos are full of surreal, far-out imagery, especially Addicted and Live Again. Where do these images come from?
It's tough to say. I just close my eyes and try and fall asleep to the song, and see what images/dreams come into my mind. When something interesting appears, I pop up and write it down. Then I go through all the crazy shit I have scribbled on the page and try and craft a concept out of it.
You have some amazing photography on your MySpace page. What advice would you give to young photographers?
The first thing is to study your subject closely, and if it looks beautiful to the eye, it will usually look great on film. Secondly, take some time and really study your pictures and play around with them in Photoshop. Soon you will get a real sense of what compositions work best, what sort of colors (and color densities) to look for, how to make skin look beautiful, how to create moods, etc. I would also suggest trying to create as much in camera as possible and not counting on computer programs to make your photo great. Photography is much more rewarding that way.
You directed a 17-minute short called Steak and Milk. Tell us about the film.
Well, it was a deliberate departure from the darker and more heavy-handed music videos I was doing. I wanted to make something that was more of a reflection of my lighter side. The whole cast is made up of my friends and family and we shot it in my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. It was great to work with actors and dialogue, and not just rely on stylization to tell a story. It just premiered at the European Independent Film Festival in Paris, and is also screening at The Beverly Hills Film Festival, The MECAL International Short Film Festival of Barcelona, The Boston Underground Film Festival, Outfest, and The Vail Film Festival. I've submitted to a few others, but haven't heard back yet.
What's next?
Well, I'm shooting another short film called 8 for Infinity starring Jimmy Gnecco from OURS at the end of April, and am trying to squeeze in a couple more music video shoots before then. I also directed a 2nd video for Bedouin Soundclash, which will be out the first week of April, and shot one in Coney Island for The Heavy's new album, that should be released in May.
You can view more photos here.
Godsmack Concert Tickets
Godsmack a band from Boston Massachusetts active from 1996. Alice in Chains is believed to be the primary influence upon Godsmack. In early interviews, the band admitted they started off as a tribute band to Alice in Chains. In an interview with MTV upon the death of Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, Godsmack frontman Sully Erna stated that Staley "was single-handedly the guy that got me to start singing." Other bands cited by Godsmack members as their primary influences typically include Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Pearl Jam and Black Sabbath. More recently, Godsmack have attempted to distance themselves from the Alice in Chains comparison with Erna stating in an interview with Matt Ashare, "I've just never really heard that in our music." Nevertheless, the comparisons to Alice in Chains are well documented. Sully Erna's style of singing mirrors that of Layne Staley's while the overall sound of the band's first two albums sound incredibly similar to the sound of Dirt. The logo of Godsmack is similar to the sun logo of Alice in Chains. Godsmack also released an album titled "Faceless" which is similar in name to Alice in Chain's first album Facelift. The band's name is identical to the title of an Alice In Chains song from the album Dirt. The band even transcended from their heavy sound to a more mellow acoustic sound on their album The Other Side in the same manner Alice in Chains did in Sap and Jar of Flies.
In 2002, Godsmack received a Grammy nomination in "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for the song "Vampires" from the album Awake. In 2004, they were opening for Metallica, while headlining with Dropbox in the summer. Then they did acoustic shows for their newly released album The Other Side in the fall of 2004, while still opening for Metallica. In September 2004, Godsmack issued a live DVD titled "Changes," (it went gold, according to RIAA) which the band recorded earlier that year. That same month, the group also released "Batalla de los Tambores," a live cut available only via online services such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, Real and Napster. Their latest single "Speak" was released on February 14, 2006 and their album titled IV was released April 25, 2006. According to an interview with Sully a new international tour is slated to begin in June and touring in the states will begin in September. IV debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 211,000 copies in its first week.
Many people when thinking about buying Godsmack concert tickets put it off, thinking buying tickets is too much work and that they aren't going to get and good seats. However nothing could be simpler, honestly it is thinking its difficult that leads to procrastinating. The easiest way of purchasing Godsmack concert tickets is by searching Ticketmaster for the artist, writing down the purchase date and remembering to log onto your computer to purchase them as soon as they go on sale. Still many people complain about availability, that too many people are buying at once and they can't get through to purchase a ticket. For many people interested in purchasing Godsmack concert tickets after the public sale date discover that the shows are sold out and find themselves enabled from finding tickets. There remains hope for those whom have put it off, there are many different service sites that can help you find tickets, such ebay.
Redskins Football Tickets - Secure Your Favorite Seat
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team that plays in the NFL. The team is presently a part of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC). It is presently based in Washington, D.C. area. The team is more popularly known as The Skins.
Redskins History
The team was formed in 1932. It started playing under the name of Boston Braves. However, the very next year, in 1933, the team changed its name to Boston Redskins. They played under this name until 1936. They have been playing under their present name, Washington Redskins, since 1937.
The Redskins have appeared in the NFL Championships eleven times and have been able to win five of them. This includes five times appearances in the super bowls. They won three of these five super bowls. The team appeared in four of these five super bowls under the leadership of the legendary Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. The team has also won five conference championships and twelve division titles.
Redskins Reality Bytes
Forbes Magazine has declared the Redskins as the second most valuable franchise in the NFL.
The team has also broken the NFL's mark for single-season attendance six years in a row.
The team also has an official marching band. The redskins are one of only two teams to do so. Baltimore Ravens is another team with an official marching band.
"Hail to the Redskins" is the fight song of the Redskins. The Redskins are considered as the first team to have a fight song.
Jim Zorn is the present head coach of the team.
In June 2002, the club honored the 70 Greatest Redskins. These 70 members include both players as well as coaches who were significant on-field contributors to the Redskins rich history.
The Home Arena of Redskins
FedExField is the present home stadium for the Redskins. The capacity of the stadium is 91,704 Redskins Football Tickets. As per the seating plan of the stadium, there are five levels to choose from- including the Upper Level, the Lower and Upper Suite Levels, the Club Level, and the Lower Level. The stadium is about a fifteen-minute walk from the Morgan Boulevard Station on Metro's Blue Line. The stadium was opened on August 1997 with a construction cost of $250.5 million. For the initial two years, it was known as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. It was renamed to FedExField only in 1997.
The former home grounds for the team include Braves Field (1932), Fenway Park (1933-1936), Griffith Stadium (1937-1960), and RFK Stadium (1961-1996). The team has been playing its home games in FedExField only since 1997.
Tips To Buy Redskins Tickets
Because of the huge fan base of the Redskins, the Redskins Football Tickets can be sold within minutes. Therefore, you must act at the right time. However, even in a hurry, you should not try to buy the tickets from an unauthorized ticket broker.
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-shirt
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt is the debut solo album by John Frusciante released on March 8, 1994 on American Recordings. Frusciante released the album after encouragement from several friends, who told him that there was "no good music around anymore".[1]
Angora">http://www.himfr.com/buy-Angora_Socks/">Angora SocksNiandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt combines avant-garde and stream-of-consciousness styles, with guitar, piano and various effects and synthesizers on a four-track recorder. The album's first half, Niandra Lades, was recorded before Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992; after the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The second half, Usually Just a T-Shirt, was recorded while the band was on tour in the months leading up to Frusciante's departure. Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt sold poorly upon its release in 1994, and was taken off the market, only to be re-released in 1999.
Frusciante joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988, at the age of 18, and released his first album with the group, Mother's Milk the following year. The follow-up album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was recorded in an empty mansion that the band decided to live in for the duration of recording.[2] Frusciante adapted well to the environment, and often spent his time alone painting, listening to music, and recording songs that would eventually make up the first half of the album, Niandra Lades.[2]Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released on September 24, 1991 and was an instant success. The album peaked at #3 in the U.S. and went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide.[3][4][5] Soon after the album's release, Frusciante developed a dislike of the band's newfound popularity. He felt that the band was too famous, and wished they were still playing small nightclubs like they were before he joined the group.[6] By his own admission, the band's rise to popularity took Frusciante by surprise, and he could not cope with it.[7] During Blood Sugar Sex Magik's promotional tour, Frusciante began using heroin and cocaine heavily.[8] He and vocalist Anthony Kiedis often argued zealously before and after performances. Frusciante began purposely sabotaging shows by playing intro for a song, or playing out of key.[9] His relationship with the band had become progressively more strained, and he abruptly quit during the Japanese leg of their world tour in 1992.[10]
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante continued to write and record solo material. He had been doing so since the age of nine, but had never considered releasing his material to the public.[11] That was until several of his friends—including Johnny Depp, Perry Farrell, Gibby Haynes and former Red Hot Chili Peppers band mate Flea—encouraged him to release the material he wrote in his spare time during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions.[11][12] Frusciante began recording final cuts of the songs he had been writing since his departure, and producing them at his home in mid 1992. The production process, however, became hampered by his increasingly severe addiction to heroin. Usually Just a T-Shirt was recorded in the order it appears, with the final tracks being recorded shortly prior to Frusciante's departure from the Chili Peppers. The effect his drug use had on album is exemplified on the album's second song, "My Smile is a Rifle".[1] Frusciante's use of heroin and cocaine became more extreme during the final stages of recording in late 1993; he began viewing drugs as the only way to "make sure you stay in touch with beauty instead of letting the ugliness of the world corrupt your soul."
During a 1994 interview, a visibly intoxicated Frusciante noted that he wrote the album in order to create "interesting music", which he felt no longer existed. He felt contemporary artists were not writing material he deemed worth listening to and the mainstream population were settling for mediocrity.[11] Drugs were another significant topic Frusciante based Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt on.[13] He increased his drug use to cope with worsening depression that was caused by leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and his subsequent isolation. Several songs on the album deal with his dislike for the Chili Pepper's success, such the album's eleventh track, "Blood on My Neck From Success".
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt incorporated Frusciante's avant-garde style of song composition, with his stream-of-consciousness methodology. He recorded, mixed, produced and mastered the entire record by himself, and released it on Rick Rubin's label, American Recordings.[1] Warner Bros., the Chili Peppers' label, originally held the rights to the album because of the leaving-artist clause in Frusciante's Chili Peppers contract. Because he was living as a recluse, however, the label gladly handed the rights over to Rubin, who released the album under his label.
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was initially previewed by Billboard magazine, who said that "Chili Peppers fans might be daunted by the album's elusive experimentalism." A representative of American Recordings did not foresee the album as being viable in any mainstream music stores, and some retailers went as far as to ban it from being sold.After the album was released, Frusciante played three small performances, and participated in a few magazine interviews to promote the album; explaining in one interview that people would only be able to understand his work if "their heads are capable of tripping out". At one point shortly after release, Frusciante began searching for a string quartet to play the album with him on tour. The idea was eventually discarded when he could not find a band that "understands why Ringo Starr is such a great drummer, can play Stravinsky, and also smokes pot." The concept of a tour was ultimately abandoned as well, due to Frusciante's diminishing health.
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was not widely reviewed, but yielded a generally positive response from critics. Steve Huey of Allmusic, who rated the album four out of five stars, said that "[the album was] an intriguing and unexpected departure from Frusciante's work with the Chili Peppers", and that "the sparse arrangements of the first half help set the stage for the gossamer guitar work later on."He went on to say that Usually Just a T-Shirt—the latter half of the album—contained "pleasant psychedelic instrumentals with plenty of backward-guitar effects." Ned Raggett, also of Allmusic, noted that "there's nothing quite so stunning as [Frusciante's] magnificent remake of Bad Brains' 'The Big Takeover'." Adam Williams of PopMatters said the album "fall[s] somewhere between madness and brilliance". He went on to compare Frusciante to Syd Barrett, and felt it was a "hint at a deeply cerebral artist looking within for inspiration and creativity." The album received its share of negative criticism as well. Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard, felt "Frusciante's eccentricities run seriously amok", and that " [the album] sounds like a string of four-track demos. The first part of the album is slightly more tuneful than the more ambient, experimental second section[...] Mostly what you get are Frusciante's acoustic-guitar scratchings and stream-of-conscious ramblings."[16] The first Rolling Stone review of the record, however, was positive: "All in all, [the album is] a mess - but definitely a fascinating, often lovely mess. As one might expect of an album titled Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-shirt this is twisted, cool stuff."[22] The Boston Herald said that while the album was "a stark display of Frusciante's acoustic guitar virtuosity" and "...eerily beautiful", the singing was "terrible; his high notes will drive the neighborhood dogs into a frenzy."
Frusciante's drug addiction worsened as the years progressed. An article published by the New Times LA described him as "a skeleton covered in thin skin".[18] He participated in an interview with Dutch public broadcast station VPRO—the first media appearance he made since leaving the Chili Peppers.[11] In the interview Frusciante speaks of the positive effects drugs have had on his mind and proudly admits to being a "junkie". He went on to confess addictions to heroin and crack cocaine, but ultimately described himself as being in the best health of his life.[11] In 1997, Frusciante released his second solo album Smile From the Streets You Hold, primarily for drug money.Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was estimated to have sold only 45,000 copies when Frusciante ordered it out of print in 1998—when Frusciante rehabilitated and rejoined the Chili Peppers.[1]Smile From the Streets You Hold was withdrawn from the market a year later.[24][25] In 1999 Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was re-released on American Recordings.[1] Frusciante has said he plans to re-release Smile From the Streets You Hold sometime in the future, but has not given any indication as to when.