2000s
The Petty Archives
  • 2006-03-09_The-Red-and-Black

Download the PDF!

Music still fun without incense
By Rachel Webster
The Red & Black - Thursday, March 9, 2006

Athens' smoking ordinances forced the Tom Petty Tribute Band to change its onstage practices.

"We used to burn incense, but we got yelled at in Athens because you can't have smoke inside," said singer/guitarist Bob Yeti.

Even without the incense, Yeti said audiences have enjoyed the band's Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover songs.

The Macon-based band includes Yeti, drummer/vocalist Cooper, bassist Joe Grizzle and guitarist/vocalist Ryan Burkhart.

During shows, "everyone's having a good time and singing together and smiling," he said.

"It's really easy to be a frontman in this band because everyone is having such a good time," he added.

  • 2006-04-21_Ocala-Star-Banner

Download the PDF!

Benmont Tench offers two cents on Nickel Creek
By Dave Schlenker
Ocala Star-Banner - Friday, April 21, 2006

A Heartbreaker weighs in on the acoustic trio.
Sure, everybody knows Gainesville native Benmont Tench is an original member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. But he's also a sought-after studio keyboardist who played on Sean Watkins' latest solo CD, "Blinders On."

A California resident preparing for the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary tour, Tench is also a diehard Nickel Creek fan who often sits in with the members at the Los Angeles club Largo. And, Tench said last week, he expects to visit Gainesville in May -- arriving too late to catch Tuesday's Nickel Creek show in his native land.

"It's killing me," he said. "I want to be there so bad."

Peter Bogdanovich to film Tom Petty tour
The Victoria Advocate - April 27, 2006

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Peter Bogdanovich will tag along with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to film their upcoming concert tour for a documentary.

Bogdanovich, who directed "The Last Picture Show" and "Paper Moon," began work late last year on a feature fim documentary chronicling the band's three-decade career.

"We've given him access we've never given anybody," Petty, 55, said as the dates were announced for the Highway Companion Tour, which will open June 9 in Charlotte, N.C.

"We're trying to give a sense of what happened to this group of kids that came from Gainesville, Fla., how they made the big time," Bogdanovich said. "How did that change them, and how did they change the world?"

"I'm not an expert on Tom Petty, I'm just a fan," the 66-year-old director said. "But what appeals to me is that he's a real American artist -- an impressionist -- very much of the American grain."

Petty seats canceled after scalpers' scam
Charleston Post and Courier - May 10, 2006

Fans who bought tickets from an online broker for June 26-27 concerts by Tom Petty with Pearl Jam may find themselves without seats.

Petty's management and Ticketmaster have canceled about 460 seats for the St. Paul, Minn., shows that had been set aside for fan club members but showed up on the Internet being resold at a higher price.

Petty's manager says the tickets will be offered once again to fan club members under more strict guidelines. Those who buy the tickets will have to show a photo ID to pick up the tickets on the night of the concert.

Scalpers apparently joined Petty's fan club to buy tickets and resell them at a higher price. That practice violates the club's terms and Minnesota law.

  • 2006-06-02_The-Free-Lance-Star

Download the PDF!

Heartbreakers hit 30: Petty, band marking milestone with tour
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
The Free Lance-Star - Friday, June 2, 2006

NEW YORK -- Each week, Tom Petty selects some musical gems that have fallen into obscurity and beams them out on his satellite radio show, hoping to expose fans to some classic music that deserves another listen.

The rock legend is planning to apply some of that philosophy to his own vast catalog this summer, as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band.

Download the PDF!

Sounds: The Heartbreakers soldier on
By Emily Gilmore
The Free Lance-Star - Thursday, June 15, 2006

BRISTOW -- There's a line in Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' "Mary Jane's Last Dance" that goes, "You never slow down, you never grow old." The band seems to have taken the lyric to heart, churning out chart-toppers in the studio and onstage for the last three decades.

The group is celebrating 30 years together with a tour that stopped at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow last weekend.

With the opening of the very first song, "Listen to Her Heart," everyone in the manic audience shot to their feet, where they remained, cheering and dancing.

Having clearly learned a thing or two during their time together, Petty and his ace bandmates -- bass player Ron Blair, keyboardist Benmont Tench, guitarist and harmonica player Scott Thurston, drummer Steve Ferrone and guitarist Mike Campbell, whom petty called the band's co-captain, played hits like "You Don't Know How It Feels" and "Free Fallin'" with unfailing precision, but the players had that extra energy that comes from performing live.

Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks make hay
By Brian Mansfield
USA Today - June 18, 2006

USATODAY.com's summer-long sonic road trip takes you inside the season's hottest concerts. This weekend, we headed south for the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., held June 15-18.
The music: In its fifth year, Bonnaroo featured more than 100 performers of a dizzying variety. New Orleans acts such as the Neville Brothers and Allen Toussaint (appearing with Elvis Costello) got special emphasis this year, but the bill also featured prominent blues, jazz, roots, rock and international acts, along with the jam bands that make up the festival's core draw. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Friday night show featured an unannounced appearance from Stevie Nicks, who sang on Stop Draggin' My Heart Around and several other songs. Radiohead  played to the crowd during its 2 1/2 hour set Saturday and performed new material as well as crowd favorites Paranoid Android and Fake Plastic Trees. Late-night shows included an epic three-hour performance by Bonnaroo favorite My Morning Jacket and the revival of New Orleans keyboardist Dr. John's Night Tripper character.

Heartbreakers Rock The Garden
By Jim Farber
New York Daily News - Wednesday, June 21, 2006

This year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will blow out 30 candles on their birthday cake. So it made sense that last night at Madison Square Garden they celebrated with a concert that was mostly sweet.

Leaning heavily into hits, the show opened with the jingle-jangle chords of "Listen to Her Heart," one of the best songs the Byrds never got around to writing. From there, they zigzagged through three decades of material that could just as easily have come from the same era.

Not only have Petty and his band changed little over the years, some of their best songs celebrate constancy for its own sake. One of the highlights of last night's show, "I Won't Back Down," drove the point home.

As always, Petty understated the verses before amping up the choruses, creating a one-two punch of dignity and defiance.

Editor's Note: See the bold section for the relevant part. The whole article is a neat read, though!

Bonnaroo - An Epic Journey Of Rock Excess
By Marya Gates, Sean Manning and Ariel Toft
The Daily Californian - Thursday, June 22, 2006

Editor's Note: Since 2002, hundreds of thousands of music fans have flocked to a farm in Tennessee for what has arguably become the largest concert on the planet: the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. This year, Bonnaroo finally gained true legitimacy when three intrepid Daily Cal writers made their way across the nation to see what all the fuss was about. This is their story.

MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE -- Thursday, 4:00 p.m.: As we are setting up our tents, our stupid neighbor-tent guys yell "Gatorade! Ice cold beer! Quesadillas!" every 20 minutes. Welcome to the campground.
--Marya Gates