Petty Releasing New Album With Pre-fame Band
Tom Petty reveals that earlier this year he re-formed his pre-Heartbreakers group Mudcrutch to record an album that reportedly will be released in 2008. "It was the most fun I've had in years," Petty says of the sessions. "We'd go to the Heartbreakers' recording studio every day. We played live there with only four monitors, no headphones or anything." In addition, Petty reports that Mudcrutch, whose lineup also includes Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, may mount a tour next year.


from RollingStone.com--

Tom Petty Speaks Out About the Year’s Least-Requested Reunion: Mudcrutch

12/5/07, 5:37 pm EST



Jimmy Page has said that strangers often stop him on the street and beg him to reunite Led Zeppelin. It’s possible not a single person alive has ever asked Tom Petty to reunite his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch, but he’s doing it anyway. The group — which included future Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, along with drummer Randall Marsh and guitarist Tom Leadon — broke up in the mid-Seventies and hadn’t played together until earlier this year when Petty called them all to his Malibu house to cut a new album. He’s even mulling a tour next year. Keep reading for a Q&A where Petty explains why he got the old crew together again.

Rolling Stone: You re-formed Mudcrutch recently, right?

Tom Petty: Yes, I did.

RS: What inspired that?

TP: It was weird. It was one of those lighting bolts to the brain. A few years ago I just started thinking about how I missed those guys, Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh. We’ve stayed in contact over the years and we’ve all stayed good friends. I brought it up to Mike and everybody was up for it. We had a ball doing it. We made the album in two weeks flat. We played everything live — vocals, no overdubs. I was just mixing it yesterday. It’s really good. I think people will enjoy it. I moved over to bass, like I used to be. Everybody sings at least one song on it, though I did the majority of the singing. It has kind of a country/rock feel, but not as you think of it today. Maybe a little edgier country kind of feel. It’s pretty cool.

RS: Are these all new songs or any older songs you recut?

TP: They’re all new songs.

RS: Are you guys doing any gigs?

TP: I think we may play some gigs. This is another spoke in the wheel — are the Heartbreakers going to go on tour and how does that preclude Mudcrutch doing the same thing and do we have time to do both?

RS: Mudcrutch could open up for Tom Petty & The Hearbreakers.

TP: [Laughs] I doubt that will happen.

RS: How did it feel to play with those guys after all these years?

TP: It was the most fun I’ve had in years. I had to calm myself down at night I was having so much fun. Most of the band came here and lived at my house in Malibu when we were doing it. We’d go to the Heartbreakers’ recording studio every day. We played live there with only four monitors, no headphones or anything. A lot of the songs were written down there or after we got home at night we’d write another one. I had too much fun doing it. It was just such a good time and I hope people enjoy it as much as I do.

RS: When you first called the guys about this, were they shocked?

TP: Yeah. They were like, “Really, are you serious? We’re going to do that?” I go, “Yeah, I’m serious.” I didn’t know. I had to call around and try to explain it to them. Once they started talking to each other and they really believed me, they got gung-ho.

RS: What sparked this? It’s pretty unusual for someone who’s been as successful as you to go back to their band that was significantly less successful.

TP: They weren’t successful at all. We were together for quite awhile. I learned to play with these guys. Tom and I had a really good harmony since we sang together so much. We have a really good blend. I’m still trying to figure out what inspired me. I had been in the midst of promoting Highway Companion and I was doing lots of interviews. One of them touched on Mudcrutch and I was sitting between interviews and thinking, “That might be an interesting thing to get them down and play with them.” The first day they came down we cut four tracks. It was like we never left. We’re actually a lot better than we were then.

RS: What kind of venues do you think you guys will playing, if you do tour?

TP: I think it would be small. I wouldn’t try and go into big arenas with Mudcrutch. What I would like to see them do is play festivals, that’s what they were always good at — those big outdoor summertime shows.


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Tom Petty Talks Super Bowl, “Long-Overdue Heartbreakers Record,” Corporate Rock: Exclusive

12/4/07, 2:12 pm EST



Hey, Petty fans, don’t expect to hear “You Don’t Know How It Feels” during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Apparently the NFL wasn’t too keen on the whole “let’s roll another joint” refrain. In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Petty chatted about his forthcoming February 3rd halftime gig, informing fans not to expect a medley or dancers — he will, however, stick closely to his greatest hits. Keep reading to check out the full Q&A, where Petty talks about his first Super Bowl (”This is the only way I could get tickets”), a potential spring tour, staying away from corporations and “the long-overdue Heartbreakers record.”

Rolling Stone: How long ago did the NFL approach you about this?

Tom Petty: I’m not exactly sure. I think it was six or eight weeks ago.

RS: Tell me your first reaction to their offer.

TP: I said, really? That was it. I was shocked, then I started thinking about it and thought it might be cool. It’s not the kind of thing you ever think about, playing the Super Bowl. It never really crossed my mind.

RS: Was your instant reaction to say yes?

TP: I thought about it and I heard that some pretty good people had been doing it. I looked at the shows that McCartney and the Stones and Prince had done and I said “Okay, this looks like it could be pretty cool.”

RS: What’s the show going to be like?

TP: I’m just … You don’t have a great deal of time. I’m trying to, right now, figure out how much material I can squeeze into that short space of time. I think that whatever you do you probably have to edit yourself a bit. I doubt we’d do a medley. We’ve never done a medley and I can’t picture us doing one. It’s not the kind of band that can remember a medley.

RS: Have you given thought to what songs you’ll play?

TP: I don’t want to give that away. We are thinking about that. We’ve got a few in mind. I think in a show that big in a place that bit you need to play songs they know.

RS: Lots of acts have fireworks and dancers in the field. Are you going to do anything like that or will it be more stripped down?

TP: That I don’t know. We won’t have any dancers, I’m sure of that. You want to give them a halftime show, maybe not in the traditional sense — but I’m sure there are a lot of people there who enjoy the fireworks and stuff. I’m just approaching it as a pretty high-energy rock & roll show — maybe like it used to be in the 1960s were you come on, do four or five of your best numbers and get off.

RS: Has the NFL given you any guidelines as far as what you can’t play as far as drug references and whatnot?

TP: I don’t think anyone was too big on me making drug references, which I never even said I’d do. I was asked … it was strongly hinted that playing “You Don’t Know How It Feels” probably wasn’t the best thing. It’s a family show. People of all ages and musical tastes in one place is what’s exciting about it.

RS: Some acts pre-record some of their instruments when they play these things. Are you guys going to do any of that or will it be totally live?

TP: No, we’re a live group.

RS: Are you at all nervous to play to half the planet?

TP: You’re not human if you’re not a little nervous about that. When it comes time to do it you don’t really want to be thinking about it. It’s a big gig, but you’ve got a job to do.

RS: Are you going to do any shows next year?

TP: We’re mulling that over right now. There hasn’t been a majority vote yet. [Laughs] We’re talking about doing some shows next year, yeah.

RS: Would these be summer shows?

TP: I don’t know. I’ve heard everything from April to June. I really don’t know.

RS: Who exactly votes on this?

TP: We all vote. We all decide on the time frame. I think everyone has voted but me.

RS: I would guess your vote is slightly more important than the others.

TP: It carries a lot of weight.

RS: Getting back to the Super Bowl. When you watched U2 and the Stones and McCartney, what lessons did you take away?

TP: I think they all did well. What you do there that works best is to just be yourself and do what you do well. I think that’s what they all did and that’s what I intend to do.

RS: Thanks for not doing a medley. I hate when bands try and cram in fifteen songs into fifteen minutes.

TP: Then you never really get to enjoy one of them. They never asked us to do that and I can’t imagine us doing that.

RS: Have you sat down with the NFL and mapped out what you’re going to do?

TP: I’ve only had one meeting with the NFL so far. They were all really cool people and seemed to know a lot about doing this kind of show. You only have five and a half minutes to set up everything. That’s the most challenging thing, how do you get your gear up and get it working in five minutes. They seem to be pretty pro.

RS: Is this your first Super Bowl?

TP: Yeah. This is the only way I could get tickets.

RS: This halftime show is sponsored by Bridgestone Tires. Are you softening your stance about working with corporations?

TP: No. I’m not sponsored by Bridgestone. My deal is with the NFL. The halftime show is always presented by a sponsor. If I play on The Tonight Show, it’s presented by sponsors. Truthfully, every venue in America has some sort of corporate sponsor above the door or on the wall. It’s not a deal that I made, you know? Don’t worry, I haven’t gone corporate.

RS: There’s only a few other holdouts left. Is it getting harder to keep saying no to that corporate money?

TP: No. That’s the way the world is run. They certainly own all the venues. If you play a bar you see signs for Budweiser. There is no way around that. We don’t use tour sponsors or do commercials or anything. I saw someone write in the press that we had in some way sold ourselves out to the Super Bowl because of this deal with Bridgestone Tires. The truth is that if you play on TV there is always a sponsor. There is no way around it. I’ve already passed on so much money I don’t worry about it anymore.

RS: Are you ever tempted?

TP: When someone offers you $10 million and you pass on it, you do think about it a little bit. I go, “God, would anyone have cared?” I care. It will bother me, is the problem. It’s like I say: If you couldn’t feed your family and someone offers you that, you would take it. I’m in a good position where I’m not hard up for bread so I can say no, but it does make you think.

RS: How about a new solo album?

TP: That’s not even on the burner yet. I guess we’ll have to start thinking about that soon?

RS: Will the next one be solo or with the Heartbreakers?

TP: No, we have decided that the next one will be the long-overdue Heartbreakers record.

RS: You’ve said recently you don’t want to do any more long tours. Do you still feel that way?

TP: Yeah.

RS: Why?

TP: I just don’t want to commit that much time to it. I love doing it and I’m sure I’ll do more tours, but I’m not going to do big long ones. I have so much I want to do right now. If I’m going to do another Heartbreakers album I need some time to write that and record that and do it the way I want to. It’s just a lot of things I want to do that keep getting put down the line because of these lengthy tours. If you take five months out of the year it really takes a hit, because then it takes you a month to recuperate from it and then there’s just a few months left to work.

RS: How do you feel about the general state of the music industry?

TP: What industry? I don’t really follow the industry too close, but I understand there’s less and less of it each time.

RS: Do you care?

TP: It’s sad, but I’m not going to worry about it. What I think the problem is they just don’t have a working model of what the industry should be, getting music to people at a fair price and make it easy for them. I think they have to kind of find that model before its all going to work.

RS: Yeah, selling physical CDs to kids for $19 is just not going to work.

TP: Hell, I was saying that in 1981.

RS: Do you see a point in five or ten years when you might stop doing this?

TP: No, no. I’m not going to stop. [Laughs] I have too much I want to do. We’re having as much fun as we’ve ever had. It’s too much fun, you know? But we’re still enjoying it.

---

1. Shady Grove
2. Scare Easy
3. Orphan Of The Storm
4. Six Days On The Road
5. Crystal River
6. Oh Maria
7. This Is A Good Street
8. The Wrong Thing To Do
9. Queen Of The Go-Go Girls
10. June Apple
11. Lover Of The Bayou
12. Topanga Cowgirl
13. Bootleg Flyer
14. House Of Stone

Standard Mix CD:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015FHDS6/?tag=imwan-20

Vinyl LP With Bonus Audiophile CD:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016OOM8A/?tag=imwan-20

Mudcrutch Farm:

http://www.mudcrutch.com/index.php?page ... rutch_2008


"I just finished a record with Mudcrutch, my old band before the Heartbreakers. I am over the moon about it. I couldn't have hoped for it to be as good as it came out." -- Tom Petty


Tom Petty & Mudcrutch Tour Information
A future tour by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 2008 has been alluded to by the Highway Companions Club. However, if it will include Mudcrutch members or if they will have their own seperate tour is yet to be announced.

How the News Broke
The epic return of Mudcrutch is coming in very early 2008. The Tennessean newspaper publicly and unofficially announced a new album by Mudcrutch with the following article:

Nashville's Leadon reunites with Petty on album and film

By BEVERLY KEEL

Nashville musician Tom Leadon recently reunited with his former bandmate and childhood friend Tom Petty.

The Toms were in a Gainesville, Fla., band called Mudcrutch - a precursor to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - with Mike Campbell and Randall Marsh. (The Toms were actually in an earlier band called the Epics.)

In August, Petty got Mudcrutch back together.

"It was just entirely unexpected," Tom Leadon says. "It was like a dream, the whole thing. Tom couldn't have been nicer. It was great to hang out with him again."

Our Tom, who teaches guitar at Jan Williams School of Music and Theater in Brentwood, stayed with Petty in Malibu, Calif., while Mudcrutch recorded with keyboardist Benmont Tench.

They recorded 18 old and new songs for an album that will be released in early 2008.

"We would play and then we would just talk about the old days," says Tom, who left the band in 1972, two years before Petty moved to L.A. to pursue his dreams. "We were all best friends.
"We hope to have enough interest in Mudcrutch that we are able to do to it again," he says.

Next month, Tom Leadon (the brother of former Eagles member Bernie Leadon) can also be seen in the Petty documentary Runnin' Down a Dream, which was directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

oops... It's evident that Tom is now painting his beard...
Maybe he was worried about... "No play for Mr. Grey".

As good as a idea as this is, I saw Mudcrutch a few times back in LA. I was not impressed. A one off show or maybe open a few shows for the Heartbreakers might be a good idea.

Speaking of, Since Tom likes to go off and do his solo thing why can't The HeartBreakers put out a album. No Petty, just let Mike Campbell and crew hit the studio.

I've always thought the same thing, why not a seperate Heartbreakers album? My guess is, would anyone buy a Petty-less Heartbreakers album? Also who would sing lead? Campbell's good for b/g vocals, but evidenced buy his lead vocal on "I don't wanna fight" from "Echo" I don't think he could carry a whole album alone. Stan Lynch had the best voice out of all of them , but he left...

Jeff

Hey, if the Attractions could make an album w/o Elvis Costello, and the Rumour could make several albums w/o Graham Parker, why not?

Big Brother and the Holding Company tried making a go of it without Janis Joplin...the Doors made not one but two albums sans Jim Morrison...the Alice-Cooperless Alice Cooper Band remaned themselves "Billion Dollar Babies"...I'd like to see the roughly eighty-six past and present members of the Pretenders somehow play a show without Chrissie Hynde...

I say...BRING IT ON!!!!

According to Tom Petty's web site, the debut album from Mudcrutch will be released on April 29th. I can't wait!
http://xrl.us/bhyw3

Just got the official e-mail this morning...

This on April 29th...a rumored [non-compilation] Elvis Costello release the week before this...April is going to be a great month!

Any more info on the Elvis album other than that's a rumor?

Info on the new Elvis Costello album can be found in this thread:

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=26980

And the Mudcrutch album has just been posted up for pre-order at Amazon, see details in the first post of this thread.

Wow-that Mudcrutch cover makes the Black Crowes cover look like a Picasso. Absolutely hideous. One of the worst things I've ever seen actually. I'm looking at it. What a hunk of crap! Anyway, I hate to say it, but that cover is enough for me to download this one, and I do want to hear it. I can't be seen in public buying that disc. Well, maybe I will, but I'm not sure!

I'm a bit surprised that TP's name isn't on the cover for marketing purposes, i.e. Tom Petty & Mudcrutch.

I suspect that they'll solve that problem with a sticker on the shrinkwrap.

I'm glad it's not...he's actually being humble. A rarity for a rock star of his stature.

Heartbreakers fans need to seek out their other side project "The Blue Stingrays": Surf 'n' Burn. Released in 1997 the band members (minus Tom) create some great surf music. For the audiophile, the songs were cut using and all tube consule so they sound most tubular.

Check it out:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... fpxqqjldse



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000001INM/?tag=imwan-20

I've heard the first single from the Mudcrutch set, "Scare Easy". Surprise...it sounds like recent vintage Heartbreakers. In other words, nothing to get too excited over.

I got it off iTunes. Not bad. Kinda confused in your description of it being 'recent vintage'. That's an oxymoron.

Petty, Campbell & Tench will sound as expected with any competent rhythm section.

I can see where you'd be confused there...but in wine terms, "of a recent vintage" just means wine that was recently manufactured. So in those terms, "Scare Easy" sounds like any old Petty from '98 onwards to me.