Despite buying tickets at the box office after the first notice when I heard they were available, I can't honestly say I was entirely excited about seeing Starsailor on 9/11; but as the tickets had already been paid for, I didn't want them to go to waste so I met up with my brother and lined up at the venue.

Arriving at Irving Plaza a little after 7:30 PM behind about 8 people ahead of us, right from the start the vibe was good... we were chatting with other people on queue, joking around with Best Buy "scratch-and-win" giveaway cards the promoters were handing out by the stack full, and saying how James Walsh looks bigger in real life when the band passed us by.

If you're one of those people that Starsailor hasn't bored to tears yet, they're trying even harder this time. Exclusively through their official website you can now download multiple tracks from the band's last world tour (as in the tracks were recorded in either London, Belgium or Germany... wait that sounds more like a European tour). Well ok, I'm painting a rather cynical picture here. All the proceeds of the sale (ha... you thought you were getting something for free didn't you?) will be benefitting The Fairtrade Foundation. Oh wait, did we say all proceeds? We must be mistaken... only "Starsailor's proceeds" go to good will. Shall we assume the rest goes back to the record company? Oh... we'll play nice... have a free wallpaper for your computer.

Yes, I am a little hard on them but after experiencing the "live" thing first hand... I preferred the dancing that happened after the fact. Those boys can cut some rug to The Charlatans... too bad no one was dancing while they were on stage.

The new(ish) television network FUSE will be hosting those cheeky Brits Starsailor in studio on Monday, January 26. You can participate in the taping of the IMX show that Starsailor appears on if you're between the ages of 15-25 and would be in the NY area from 4:30 - 7:30 on the 26th. Interested? Send an email with "Starsailor" in the subject to: IMXAudience@imx.tv. First come first serve...

The show will be aired live from 6-7pm EST January 26 on Fuse... oh and don't forget that the new Starsailor album 'Silence Is Easy' comes out the next day domestically.

Legendary producer Phil Spector is being held on one million dollars bail in LA this afternoon after being arrested for first degree murder. Phil was taken into custody early in the morning at his LA area home after police found an as-yet-unidentified woman dead on the scene.

Spector is just back from England where he had recorded four tracks with Starsailor at Abbey Road Studios in London for their upcoming sophomore album. "The greatest thing we've done so far was work with Phil. I think we took a lot away from that. It was like two worlds colliding. He's learned a lot from us about how studios work these days and we learned from him about older techniques." Starsailor's James Walsh recently told the NME.

Spector has been the subject of violent rumors in the past when he supposedly pulled a gun on The Ramones until they agreed to add horns to a track he was producing. Spector has worked with many of the biggest names in music history, amongst those The Ramones, John Lennon, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, The Righteous Brothers

, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and more.

NME has announced plans today for a new War Child charity record to follow in the footsteps of the acclaimed "Help" record of several years ago. Bands who have agreed to participate are to go into studio between now and the first week of September to lay down a cover of their choice, provided it was a former UK #1 song. The disc will be released in October to coincide with the 50th birthday of NME and the anniversary of the first UK pop music chart. Bands already confirmed to appear include: OASIS, MANIC STREET PREACHERS, STEREOPHONICS, BADLY DRAWN BOY, STARSAILOR, FEEDER, JIMMY EAT WORLD, BASEMENT JAXX, and MS. DYNAMITE, with more to be announced as the project nears completion.

One of our Excellent members, Lisa Y. Garibay, interviewed James Walsh from Starsailor for her site, Then It Must Be True. Go read it because it's a fantastic interview and you won't see a 'Where did the name Starsailor come from?' question.

Charlatans/Starsailor
Los Angeles, CA, Palace
January 11, 2001

The Charlatans are known for bringing along the "hot new indie" band for their support. Some previous bands were: Catherine Wheel, Menswe@r, Stereophonics, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. So Starsailor fit right into their supporting role and banged out a decent set. The Charlatans did the same. So why did this show suck ass?

Starsailor
August 28, 2001
Troubadour

The show was sold out and I didn't bother to buy a ticket even though it was on sale for weeks. For a show that was only ten bucks, I was wondering how much the scalpers were going to be asking. I ask a guy standing by the Will Call window if he has an extra ticket, he hands it over and before I can ask how much, he already turned around. I say, "Thanks!" and just like that, I'm in Starsailor's first American show, correction, first headlining American show.

NME is reporting that Mogwai and Ash have started to bash Starsailor for their success in England. Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai said that Walsh would "rape his own granny" to achieve fame. Starsailor's next single, "Alcoholic", is out on September 17th and their album, "Love Is Here", will be out on October 8th. The full tracklisting is inside.