It goes without saying that when Sean Lennon, the youngest son of rock legend and Beatle John Lennon, releases his solo debut album, "Into the Sun" next week that he'll face a very tough role to live up to.
None of which seems to bother Sean all that much, and in an interview with MTV News, the part-time Cibo Matto bassist compared his position with that of another progeny of a famous musician, Jakob Dylan.
"His dad's the greatest songwriter of all time," Lennon said, "but now kids in high school don't even know. They think of Bob Dylan as Jakob's dad, which is pretty incredible. I think I'm going in a different direction. I'm trying just to establish myself musically and start with a smaller fan base."
"I don't think my album is going to explode like the Wallflowers album did," he continued, "because that was really like a mainstream album. I think I'd like to wait for the mainstream success until I get a little older and a little more experienced, until I want that."
"For me it's really important to kind of start off slowly." Lennon said. "In fact, the Wallflowers, their first album wasn't the one that hit, so I think that's what made it easier for him too, for Jakob, was that his career built slowly, so I want to do that too" [500k Audio].
As we previously reported (see "Wallflowers Added To Tibetan Concert ..."), both Sean Lennon and the Wallflowers will play at this year's Tibetan Freedom Concert on June 14 at Washington, D.C.
Completing a full rock 'n' roll circle, the band that belted out a stirring rendition of "Masters of War" for a Bob Dylan tribute show five years ago has now recruited Dylan's son Jakob to open a charity show in Seattle for them this July.
Diehard Dylan fans, Pearl Jam announced Tuesday that the Wallflowers will perform with them July 21 and 22 at Seattle's Memorial Stadium for a hometown fundraiser that will benefit 10 local organizations for children, Native Americans and people with AIDS. In addition to the Wallflowers, Seattle-based hard rockers Zeke have also be named as an opener for the two shows. Pearl Jam plans to announce more special guests for the charity concerts, which may see a momentous Temple of the Dog reunion if former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell joins Pearl Jam on stage, as is rumored.
Kicking off June 20 in Missoula, Mont., the Yield tour will wind through the country this summer with celebrated opening acts like Iggy Pop, Mudhoney, Frank Black and perhaps Ben Harper, who is tentatively slated to open shows on the East Coast in September. Several opening slots remain open. The Seattle show may prove to be the most thrilling performance of the season for the band, which has consistently played rare, noteworthy shows for their hometown fans in the past.
The platinum-selling Wallflowers, who recently released a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" for the Godzilla soundtrack, are keeping an otherwise low profile this summer with only nine other scheduled gigs, including four state fairs in various oddball California cities.
Regardless of the setlist or star-studded guests, Pearl Jam will donate $78,000 to the local John Stanford Book Fund, which works in conjunction with the Seattle Public School System. $30 tickets for the July 22 charity show are still available through Ticketmaster.