A treat for all you Billy Boyd fans out there; we reported back in March that Beecake, the band of which Boyd is a part, were set to release a new EP this June.  That EP, ‘Please Stay’, is available now for digital download, from iTunes and (title track only, it seems) from Amazon.  You can find more details at Grammy or at Beecake’s own website.    And – there is a fabulous video to go with the title track!  For Pippin-lovers and lovers of good music – enjoy:

Many thanks to Michael J Ferns, who directed the music video, for letting us know about it.

Dads and Grads Sale at WBShop.comThe WBShop.com is celebrating graduates and fathers with their ‘Dads and Grads Sale.’ The sale is quite extensive, featuring:  $5 OFF the catalog of The Lord of the Rings (and Hobbit!) shirts, $5 OFF LOTR iPhone cases, 20% OFF LOTR keepsake boxes, 10% OFF LOTR jewelry, 50% OFF Blu-Ray, and 20% off canvas prints. Yup – sounds like a great time to build your LOTR collection. These specials are only available for a limited time, so we suggest checking out asap! [WBShop.com Dads and Grads Sale] [LOTR Shirts] [Official Hobbit Shirt]

This performance by violinist Lindsey Stirling landed in our mailbox today and we were just blown away. We hope you are too. Check out her blog and YouTube channel for more tunes from Lindsey.

Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!  MINOR SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T READ THE HOBBIT

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – January 23, 2012”

10 years have passed since the release of the first of the films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and fans will surely recall Frodo’s “chicken dance” at Bilbo’s Birthday party, Merry and Pippin singing in the Green Dragon Inn, Frodo and Sam watching the Wood-elves leaving Middle-earth, and Éowyn singing a dirge at the burial of her cousin Théodred.

The songs and the music for all these scenes, termed “diegetic” or “cultural” music, were composed and performed by Plan 9 (consisting of David Donaldson, Stephen Roche, and Janet Roddick) together with David Long, who also collaborated with them on certain aspects of the sound design for the Dead Marshes, the Ents, and the One Ring.

In celebration of the The Fellowship of the Ring’s 10th Anniversary, TheOneRing.net brings you an exclusive interview with Plan 9.

"The Elvish Impersonators" (from L to R: David Long, Steve Roche, Janet Roddick, David Donaldson) working on The Lord of the Rings in December 2002

Join us as we talk to them about how they came on board Peter Jackson’s crew working on the three films, and how they approached composing, performing, and selecting instruments that would lend credibility to the fictional cultures that inhabited Tolkien’s Middle-earth. All this, and also some talk of their as-yet-unreleased music for the films.

Continue reading “FOTR 10th Anniversary Exclusive: An interview with Plan 9”

If you go to the movies, even casually, you have been moved by his work. Assisting directors, he makes audiences laugh and cry and with over 80 scores, three Oscars and more than 50 other awards to his name, Howard Shore is a master movie composer. He has collaborated with David Cronenberg, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and David Fincher to name just a few. But it is his work with Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy that has won him his widest commercial acclaim.

With a nine-city tour of The Lord of the Rings in concert: The Fellowship of the Ring to kick off Wednesday in Glendale Arizona, TheOneRing.net spoke with Shore (in London) by phone about the unique event that combines a film screening with a live performance of his score.

TORn: Is there an excitement about these live performances?

Howard Shore: It is very exciting, I am very much looking forward to it. Continue reading “Howard Shore talks FOTR concert tour with TORn”