Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Jul 5, 2010
Tom Petty has always held a special place in my heart. In my early days as a promotion man, I worked his first couple of releases via Shelter and later was directly involved with his music again during my tenure at MCA. In my view, Petty has always remained true to his musical mission, and, although, over the years he has reached out in a couple of other creative directions, he has always been an honest voice of American music.
In the midst of his 35--year run with The Heartbreakers, Petty has also done some solo efforts and side projects such as The Traveling Wilburys and the more recent Mudcrutch project. But he always returns to his Heartbreakers and he has done so again with "Mojo."
"Mojo" is technically the first project he's done with the Heartbreakers since 2002's "The Last DJ." This time out he's tackling the blues for the most part, applying the Heartbreakers' (Mike Campbell on guitar, Scott Thurston on guitar and harmonica, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Ron Blair on bass and Steve Ferrone on drums) signature sound to the effort. But this really serves only as a jumping off point as the band takes this premise into many interesting directions on this Petty-, Campbell- and Ryan Ulyate-produced album.
"The takes were usually very early takes, and I wanted to leave room for improvisation. We didn't really demo this up. I just came in with my guitar, played them a song on it and took it from there," said Petty in a recent interview." He went on further to say that it was "pretty organic because it was created right there on the studio floor." And several tracks are inspired successes including "I Should Have Known It," "Jefferson Jericho Blues," "First Flash of Freedom," "No Reason to Cry," "Let Yourself Go" and "Lover's Touch."
In 1999 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2002, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005, Petty received the Billboard Century Award for his lifetime achievements. In 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the city of Gainesville, FL, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up. On February 3, 2008 they played during the Super Bowl XLII halftime show.
The band is now in the midst of an extensive tour:
- 7/10 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Indianapolis
- 7/13 Sprint Center. Kansas City
- 7/15 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati
- 7/17 United Center, Chicago,
- 7/18 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, St. Louis
- 7/20 Blossom Music Center, Cleveland
- 7/22 Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit
- 7/24 First Niagara Pavilion, Pittsburgh
- 7/28 Madison Square Garden, New York
- 7/31 Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
- 8/01 Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
- 8/11 Philips Arena, Atlanta
- 8/12 Sommet Center, Nashville
- 8/14 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Lake, NY
- 8/15 Jiffy Lube Live, Washington, DC
- 8/17 Comcast Theater, Hartford
- 8/19 Comcast Center, Boston
- 8/21 Comcast Center, Boston
- 8/24 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
- 8/25 Air Canada Center, Toronto
- 8/27 Saratoga Springs Performing Arts, Saratoga Springs, NY
- 8/28 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Lake, NY
- 9/16 St Pete Times Forum, Tampa
- 9/18 Warner Cable Music Pavilion, Raleigh, NC
- 9/19 Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte
- 9/21 Superpages.com Center, Dallas
- 9/23 BOK Center, Tulsa
- 9/24 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston
- 9/26 US Airways Center, Phoenix
- 9/28 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego
- 10/01 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles
- 10/2 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
For more, visit www.tompetty.com