2000s
The Petty Archives

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Steve Winwood
By Jen Paulson
Dallas Observer - August 21, 2008

Wednesday, August 27, at American Airlines Center
While Petty and the Heartbreakers are the major selling point of this show, Steve Winwood has his own place in rock history.

His work in bands including the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith, and his big-time light-rock output in the ’80s, have made him a household name. Now, with a new album out, he’s taking it on the road with the main man: Petty, of course.

Tom Petty sticks to his blueprint in Irvine
By Ben Wener
The Orange County Register - August 23, 2008

There oughta be a law about this sort of thing.

Hustle it through the state legislature, hurry it to the Governator before it happens again and dub it Live Music Ordinance 90125.5150: All classic rockers with at least 20 years of staples to draw from who schedule more than one show in the Southern California region within a six-month period are required to swap out a minimum of a half-dozen songs from gig to gig. More would be preferable.

First offense: a bad review. Second offense: we start hawking your albums and tour merchandise on eBay for dirt cheap. Third offense: permanent boycott. (This rule has to adhere to the three strikes law, doesn't it?)

Frankly, lifelong fan though I am of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, if I had the authority I'd slap 'em with a stiff fine for what they pulled Friday night at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

Petty/Winwood: From the Cheap Seats
By Jim Caligiuri
The Austin Chronicle - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A friend got lucky on the only day $10 lawn seats went on sale for Verizon Amphitheater shows earlier this summer, so I was able to sneak into last night's Tom Petty/Steve Winwood show in Selma for cheap. The low price probably says more about the state of the touring industry, because everything but the free parking was ridiculously priced. I mean, come on, $9 for a plastic cup of Budweiser? But I digress.

Steve Winwood opened with an hour-long traipse through his past with a couple of side steps into latest Nine Lives (Columbia). Deftly managing to hit all the high points of his career, he performed songs from the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, and his solo life with verve and polish. Tropical rhythms met blue-eyed soul augmented by expansive saxophone and the flute work of Paul Booth, making time fly. "Dear Mr. Fantasy," featuring Winwood's extended guitar workout, was a crowd-pleaser. As a whole, it made me wish he would play Austin sometime soon for a more extensive visit.

No Petty concern
By Andrew Dansby
Houston Chronicle - August 28, 2008

A comeback? For many adoring fans, the rocker never went away
Get too close to an artist and you'll be the last to know he/she/they have fallen out of favor with a mainstream audience. For me, the artist was Tom Petty.

I've read a handful articles and interviews this year that reference Petty's recent revival. Hip Brooklyn indie rockers Vampire Weekend covered one of his songs in concert. There was a high-profile Super Bowl gig; a Peter Bogdanovich documentary featured artists such as Dave Grohl praising him; an album he released as Mudcrutch, his first band, was nicely reviewed.

Still, I felt like a rube for being puzzled by the notion that Petty had ever left.

  • 2008-10-10_Ojai-Valley-News

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Ojai Valley Neighbors
By Sondra Murphy
Ojai Valley News - Friday, October 10, 2008

As a professional musician, Randall Marsh estimates he has played with thousands of bands. The son of a Bushnell, Fla., politician, Marsh plays guitar, but his first love was drums. "In my hometown, the high school was on the other side of the road from the elementary school and the marching band would be out there practicing," said Marsh. "The sound of the snare drum was the coolest thing I'd ever heard."

Marsh joined the school band to get access to drums and took to them naturally. "But the band teacher would say to me, 'This is not a rock band, Mr. Marsh.'"

  • 2009-02-16_The-Horizon

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Petty reunites with Mudcrutch
By Hunter Embry
The Horizon - February 16, 2009

Before Tom Petty broke big with the Heartbreakers, he was the bassist and singer for Mudcrutch. Petty, then 17-years-old, accompanied by Mike Campbell, Tom Leadon, Benmont Tench, and Randall Marsh, was drawing attention in the Florida bar scene dancing with Mary Jane and just beginning to run down his dream.

In 1974, there were a couple of line-up changes and the Heartbreakers proceeded to make rock 'n' roll history.

Last year, Mudcrutch reunited and released their first self-titled studio album and 2008 saw the release of "Extended Play Live," which is four Mudcrutch tracks recorded live from their 2008 tour.

Sims Music and Sound to close
By Anthony Clark
Gainesville Sun - February 18, 2009

The guitars, amplifiers and drums are down to a precious few, and the gold and platinum records that lined the walls are back in storage as Sims Music and Sound prepares to close shop at the end of the month after more than 20 years in business.

Jeff Sims said the music retail landscape left him a choice - grow or move on. He said he made the difficult decision to close last month and started telling people a couple weeks ago.

"I went in to do it to follow my passion and just make a modest living. It's mission accomplished. I feel really good about it, but with the encroachment of online shopping and the chain stores, I found to be competitive, I really couldn't keep it small. I never wanted to have multiple stores. It's as much real estate as I want to handle," he said of his shop at 4000 Newberry Road.

  • 2009-05-07_Carmel-Valley-News

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Ron Blair, legendary bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, shares talent, expertise wth lucky Grauer School student band
By Matt Liebowitz
Carmel Valley News - May 7, 2009

The Grauer School's recent Annual Spring Gala gave one student musician the chance of a musical lifetime.

On Saturday, May 2, The Grauer School hosted its 9th Annual Spring Gala, "Our Future is Bright and Green" at the Hilton Del Mar. The event offered a number of unique auction items, but one prize was especially exciting for music lovers -- a private recording session with Ron Blair, bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Movie Reviews: Band-based films find balance between music, plotlines
By Greg Fink
The Independent Florida Alligator - Thursday, July 16, 2009

Music and film don't always synch up. While some try to hard to push the entertainment factor with forced tour bus orgies and unlimited profanity, others come up dry. But among the failed attempts, some music-related films mesh both genres of entertainment in perfect harmony.

It may be the Gainesville connection that makes "Runnin' Down a Dream" so compelling. The film, tracing Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' career, opens with live concert footage from the bands Sept. 21, 2006 performance at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The film traces the band's beginnings in Gainesville, complete with home video footage. As the movie continues, Gainesville becomes far less prominent as The Heartbreakers makes its move toward success, but clips of the Gainesville show appear throughout to remind you of the band's humble origins.

The various celebrity interviews from people like Johnny Depp, Dave Grohl and Stevie Nicks, along with the momentum built up by interviews with the chronology of the band, keeps audiences captivated throughout the almost four-hour-long film.