It may have sent shudders down the backs of music fans who already feel the industry is over-monopolized, but yesterday’s announcement that satellite radio stations XM and Sirius would be joining forces in what market analysts are calling a record $13 billion merger was reason to cheer for others—and we’re not talking about stockholders or investors.

Think about it: You’re pondering the purchase of a satellite radio set-up, and it would be ridiculous to buy two subscriptions. But on the one hand, while you’re way into the idea of, say, Little Steven’s must-hear “Underground Garage,” Marky Ramone’s “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg” and “Outlaw Country” which features segments from Mojo Nixon, Shooter Jennings and Cowboy Jack Clement (all on Sirius—which, oh yeah, also has Howard Stern and Martha Stewart), on the other hand, you’ve also been hankering to listen to Tom Petty’s “Buried Treasure,” Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour” and the members of Rancid’s “Rancid Radio” (all exclusively on XM).

Sob! What’s a poor, music-loving schmuck gonna do! (Well, there’s such a thing as making your own mixtapes… but we digress.) So a one-size-fits-all single subscription sounds like just the ticket.

In theory, then, the XM and Sirius merger would mean that with one sub, you’d get the best of both worlds, and talking heads are already predicting the expensive bidding wars for broadcast talent between the two companies will come to an end, yielding exactly that win-win scenario. Of course, the term “be careful what you wish for,” when applied to the entertainment industry, is always applicable, so only time will tell whether or not the consumer will truly be the winner here. With both XM and Sirius under one roof, and with no challengers to their broadcast-market hegemony, can ever-higher subscription rates be far behind?

All that aside, the point(s) may become moot if federal regulators don’t approve the merger. Currently, laws are in place prohibiting the two to combine, and a statement from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) was issued expressing shock if regulators did approve of the merger. Most experts agree that it will depend on how the FCC ultimately views the broadcast industry as a whole: if it’s deemed that the Internet (as well as digital music players such as the iPod) provides a reasonable amount of “competition” to the satellite broadcasters, the approval is likely; but if the prevailing view is that XM and Sirius are each other’s sole competition, then it probably won’t pass.

Both the Washington, DC-based XM and the New York City-based Sirius indicated they are confident that the merger will go through. No word yet on what the company would be called. Xirius, maybe?

Noted the NAB, "When the FCC authorized satellite radio, it specifically found that the public would be served best by two competitive, nationwide systems. Now, with their stock prices at rock bottom and their business model in disarray because of profligate spending practices, they seek a government bailout to avoid competing in the marketplace."

Government bailout? Hey, it’s the American way! Details at 11. Meanwhile, why not support your local NPR affiliate or community radio station with a donation. Tell ‘em HARP sent ya.

Petty also said his next album would be with the Heartbreakers, though he hasn't written anything for it yet, so there's no timetable.

In addition, Petty will be represented visually late this year when the Heartbreakers documentary from director Peter Bogdanovich is released. Petty said, "It looks pretty great. I think he's mostly based it around the concert we did in Gainesville (Florida) in September. It sort of goes into flashbacks, with lots of archival footage, and then just keeps coming back to the present, whether it's the rehearsals or on the airplane or at the concert in Gainesville."

"We wanna be like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. That's the model. You wanna have the great writer, the great songs, the solid rhythm section, the great lead guitarist that can take you in a hundred different directions so you don't sound like Wolfmother. . . . I don't wanna be the fuckin' Velvet Underground, where you put out three or four records and then the band breaks up, never gets back together, and you never even get paid for those records—all you get is a lifetime of other bands ripping you off. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, that's where it's at. They've been around for, like, 30 years, have all these great songs, keep putting out great songs, are humble, and are still a killer live band. That's what we wanna be when we grow up."

Click here for full article

The Four-Disc DVD Collection Debuts on April 17

Culver City, Ca (February 5, 2007) - Forget about the 23 featured episodes of the Emmy Award®-winning "The Larry Sanders Show" (it received a whopping 56 Emmy nominations during its run on HBO). NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW contains more than eight hours of newly produced material that makes this not just your usual DVD - not even close! The four-disc DVD boxed set debuts on DVD on April 17 at the suggested retail price of $49.95. This innovative, provocative and hugely entertaining release includes personal, intimate, indulgent visits meant until now for only Garry Shandling to see - raw, real-life situations between Shandling and stars who appear in the featured episodes - including Alec Baldwin, Tom Petty, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Sharon Stone and many others. These unrehearsed visits surpass even the Larry Sanders reality, as they once again explore the core ingredients of the ground-breaking program - unexpected human behavior, truth and humor.

The DVD includes the documentary, The Making of The Larry Sanders Show, which reveals an in-depth and surprising look at the process of turning a script into a show that was ahead of its time. The Los Angeles Times selected Garry Shandling‚s series as one of ten TV programs that had Œinarguable influence‚ on the industry and this DVD is a celebration of the series‚ unique place in entertainment lore. NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW also features guest appearances on the featured episodes by a wide slate of stars which includes Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn, Warren Beatty, Sean Penn, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Alexander, Carol Burnett and Winona Ryder. The featurette "Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor Visit Garry Shandling in His Living Room" is a reunion of Shandling, Torn and Tambor discussing working together on the show. Also included are interview featurettes with cast members Penny Johnson, Wallace Langham, Scott Thompson, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Piven, Bob Odenkirk, and Linda Doucett.

The Larry Sanders Show debuted on HBO August 1, 1992, and was ahead of its time, becoming an immediate critical and audience hit for its satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at Hollywood. The series that combined documentary-like camerawork with a clever blend of fact and fiction set the standard of quality for HBO and influenced the development of shows like Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office.Over the course of its six-year, 89-episode run, the series was nominated for 56 Emmy Awards [winning three: Outstanding Writing (Shandling & Peter Tolan); Outstanding Directing (Todd Holland); Outstanding Supporting Actor (Rip Torn)]. The show also won three Golden Globe® nominations, two Peabody Awards, and five CableACE Awards for Best Comedy Series.

Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show episodes include:

1. What Have You Done for Me Lately?
2. The Spider Episode
3. The Hey Now Episode
4. The List
5. The Hankerciser 200
6. Life Behind Larry
7. The Mr. Sharon Stone Show
8. Hank's Night in the Sun
9. Office Romance
10. Hank's Divorce
11. Hank's Sex Tape
12. I Was a Teenage Lesbian
13. Larry's New Love
14. Everybody Loves Larry
15. My Name Is Asher Kingsley
16. Ellen, or Isn't She?
17. Pilots and Pens Lost
18. Another List
19. The Beginning of the End
20. Adolph Hankler
21. The Interview
22. Putting the Gay‚ Back in Litigation
23. Flip (1-hour)

• Documentary: The Making of The Larry Sanders Show
• Featurette: Trio
• Exclusive Interviews: Personal, Intimate, Indulgent Meetings With My Friends That Are Meant Only for Me to See - Interviews with:
  1. Alec Baldwin
  2. Ellen DeGeneres
  3. David Duchovny
  4. Tom Petty
  5. Jerry Seinfeld
  6. Sharon Stone
  7. Jon Stewart
  8. Carol Burnett
• Featurette: Interview with Penny Johnson
• Featurette: Interview with Wallace Langham
• Featurette: Interview with Scott Thompson
• Featurette: Interview with Janeane Garofalo
• Featurette: Interview with Mary Lynn Rajskub
• Featurette: Interview with Sarah Silverman
• Featurette: Interview with Jeremy Piven
• Featurette: Interview with Bob Odenkirk
• Featurette: Interview with Linda Doucett
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Alternate Takes
• Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on What Have You Done for Me Lately with Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan
• Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on Hank‚s Night in the Sun with Garry Shandling and Todd Holland
• Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on Putting the ŒGay‚ Back in Litigation with Garry Shandling and Judd Apatow
• Audio Commentary on Flip with Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan
• Digitally Remastered Audio and Video
• Full Screen Presentations
• Audio: English (Dolby Surround)
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Closed Captioned

Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show has a run time of approximately 660 minutes and is not rated. For more information on the project, visit www.thelarrysandersdvd.com. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

DVD Catalog # 10296
UPC Code: 0-43396-10296-5
SLP: $49.95

Some may say, “But it’s up for a Grammy for Best Rock Album” – So what? Voting members of NARAS are 90 year old orchestra members who still think Rock ‘N Roll is Satan’s music. Given that, Highway Companion will probably win a Grammy.

What are my credentials? I’ve been buying Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker records since 1979 and I’m a fan. I was actually looking forward to this album coming out with great anticipation, but I was disappointed. I actually held off on writing this for quite sometime because I had hoped it would grow on me. It hasn’t.

Saving Grace – 1st single, 1st song and only rocking song on the album.

Square One – Heard it on the Elizabethtown soundtrack a year ago.

Flirting With Time – Hook Writing 101; lyrically, in the fashion of The Police’s Don’t Stand So Close To Me. But the song lost me with the use of the word Coyote. Too bad radio will never play it.

Down South – Yawn!

Jack – Thank God for Mike Campbell.

Turn This Car Around – Go home and get a better CD to keep in the car! I do like the “I’m goin’ Back” part production which DID NOT come across in the 2005 rare summer performances.

Big Weekend – Who says that? And I don’t have a maid.

Night Driver – Double Yawn!

Damaged By Love – Lyrically fantastic, but very tired of the way too slow tempo of this album.

This Old Town – I like this song.

Ankle Deep – Two great lines – “She didn’t speak for a week, just kinda mumbled”.and “Daddy, you been a Mother to me”, not sure exactly what that means, but it made me laugh.

The Golden Rose – Kill me now.

A note on Jeff Lynne’s production. All the instruments sound like they’re under water, unless it’s a solo. Lyrically, Tom Petty delivers some of his best work. But the music isn’t interesting enough to listen. I miss the ‘f’ it attitude, the anger, angst and rock and roll. This mid tempo stuff has gotta go!

I hear the next Heartbreakers’ album will be a live one. I was lucky enough to hear Gone Gator Radio while it was on and loved the older rare live cuts they played. I miss those older performances, they seemed more heartfelt and less predictable. I can only hope the new live album will highlight some of that.

Because of my hard work with Gone Gator Radio, the last I heard, tompetty.com will be rolling out Tom Petty Radio. I really wanted this to be a much smoother transition. Basically turning off GGR once TP Radio was live. But I was offered nothing to help me make this happen. I don't know WHEN this will happen. Just know that it will happen because of Gone Gator Radio.

I want to Thank all the people who have supported my efforts in the last few months! I truly apppreciate it. I hope you all enjoyed Gone Gator Radio while it lasted. I will continue to provide you with information as I get it with gonegator.com

Thank you!
Sean

I was told that the fires had come DANGEROUSLY close to Tom's house, but nothing was damaged and EVERYONE is ok!

I know that will ease many peoples' minds!

The photographer positioned the singer beside a tree that partially obscured him, and Petty, pleased by the notion of camouflage, held up his guitar for further cover. The reporter asked Petty if he loathes interviews. "It's part of the job," he answered, the way a miner might shrug and explain that yes, of course black lung is to be expected when you dig coal for a living. "And sometimes," Petty added, "people get things wrong or misunderstand."

This year, Petty did an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that made it sound as though he was retiring. He is not. But the article led to a flood of media requests because, well, there's nothing quite so tidy for a music journalist as a career-closing retrospective. Petty was by turns amused, frustrated and dazed by the false-retirement attention, but it all fed into a one-of-a-kind year for a singer who may be one of the most routinely undervalued songwriters in the rock pantheon. "I really couldn't have imagined a year like this happening," he said. "I didn't see this coming, especially with the way things were just a few years ago."

Petty and his band, the Heartbreakers, celebrated their 30th anniversary this year with a triumphant tour that, in September, included a homecoming to Gainesville, Fla., where the band formed in the 1970s. The return was greeted with a local fervor that made it seem like the Fab Four returning to Liverpool, except this Liverpool was situated between humid swamps and these Beatles sounded more like the Byrds. The mayor came on stage with a key to the city, the local press gushed and Petty watched the whole scene wide-eyed.

"It spooked me, really. It was nice but it was also overwhelming," he said. "You can't really walk down the street or talk to anybody because everybody was talking at once. At the concert I just hid in the bus until it was time to play."

The homecoming was only one in a crush of valentines for Petty. His new solo album, "Highway Companion," was met with strong reviews and, this month, two Grammy nominations as well, including best rock album. It was his first new music in four years — a fact that had escaped him until a European journalist asked him to explain the drought. "I was surprised. Was it really that long? Yes, I guess it was." See, sometimes these interviews can be enlightening.

The album, released at midyear, has a gothic feel in spots and Petty's nasal drawl fits in especially well on "Down South," a song draped in the Spanish moss of central Florida, where Petty grew up. The lyrics sound like a vagabond spinning on his heel and retracing his steps.

Headed back down south

Gonna see my daddy's mistress

Gonna buy back her forgiveness

Pay off every witness

One more time down south

Clearly, he's a fellow who inventories the skeletons in his closet.

Petty and his band are also the focus of a documentary, due in 2007, by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. It's not simply a filmed concert or extended music video, either; Bogdanovich followed the band on the road, recorded rehearsals with hidden cameras, sat them down for lengthy interviews and rummaged through their vaults for footage.

"It's looking at Tom, an American troubadour in the truest sense of the word, and the history and legacy of this band, which is a considerable history indeed," Bogdanovich said backstage at Petty's Hollywood Bowl show a few months ago. Also backstage were Stevie Nicks, with her hair up in curlers, and Traveling Wilburys alumnus Jeff Lynne. Both of them would join Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage as surprise guests. Petty seemed a bit overwhelmed by the ovations, patting his heart, waving to the crowd. He may not be retiring, but it's clear he's soaking up every single minute these days.

Classic touch

"THAT night," Petty said, "that was one of our best shows. That's why we're upset it wasn't reviewed in The Times." Back on Petty's porch, the photos were done. It was time to amble over to the guesthouse that had been converted to a recording studio, guys' clubhouse and jam retreat.

Despite all of the accolades this year, and the 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Petty is a bit prickly when it comes to getting his due. It may be partly because radio programmers deny him airplay for new music (after his sniping at corporate radio with the 2002 album "The Last DJ," some of that may be personal) and because after collaborations with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and so many other icons, Petty is sometimes consigned to a junior partner role in the minds of fans. The singer does not have leading-man good looks, and it's fair to say the best reviews of his career were early on.

But what a career it has been. Just look at the hits, all sly but accessible: "Breakdown," "American Girl," "Listen to Her Heart," "Free Fallin'," "The Waiting," "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Do Me Like That," "Don't Come Around Here No More."

Still, there's something to the blue-collar ethos of the band that makes people describe it with language veering toward the drab. There are plenty of compliments, but lots of them sound like "My, what a handsome woman." Check out the official entry on them at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website: "Durable, resourceful, hard-working, likeable and unpretentious, they rank among the most capable and classic rock bands of the last quarter century." It sounds like they're selling a used Packard.

Bogdanovich calls Petty and his crew "a great American rock band of a sort you don't find anymore," and that's true. Calling someone a rare link to the classic rock era doesn't sound complimentary, but in this case it is. This band gathered up threads from the music traditions of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Dylan and Fleetwood Mac as well as the crowd-pleasing sensibility of 1950s rockers who were intuitively suspicious of "art" and put a premium on writing hit songs and playing their instruments better than anyone else. Benmont Tench, the keyboardist for the Heartbreakers, said he's also blanched at arty aspirations for a rock band. "We wanted to make music that follows a certain tradition and appeals to a lot of people," he said, "and there's nothing wrong with that. Far from it."

Picking up

A few years ago, Petty was in a roadside diner and was handed a cup of coffee. It was fantastic. "I asked the waitress and she said it was Maxwell House. The instant kind." So, now at his Malibu mansion, the one with the tennis courts and pools, you can request a cup of java, but you'll get handed a cup of joe.

In his studio, Petty began to warm up with the coffee in his hand, the cigarette between his fingers and a seat to nurse the knee that, after thousands of stage stunts, is now in the seasons of surgery.

Petty is in an otherwise healthy phase of life. That wasn't the case a few years ago. "Things," he said, "got dark. Let's just say that." A bitter divorce led to a slide into a hermit's haze. Petty isolated himself and self-medicated with the familiar rock-star prescriptions. "Things weren't good and I was worried about him. We all were," said Mike Campbell, the Heartbreakers' guitarist and "co-captain," as Petty calls him. Salvation is hard to catalog, but in this case it looked like a new marriage (to Dana York), a new album and a rejuvenated spirit in the band. Veteran rock outfits have to give one another room to stay together, Petty says, but he is clearly pleased that the winks and hugs are back.

"You learn a lot about each other and it's amazing that we have done this for so long, not many people can," he said. "We still argue but it's for the music. The big difference is we don't punch each other anymore. You learn that you can't play if you got a sore hand."

The Malibu afternoon was giving way to a cool twilight. The grumpy scarecrow from the porch had been replaced by a chuckling Mad Hatter. Petty told stories about Orbison and Johnny Cash and mentioned how Dylan had told him that he loved "The Last DJ," which endured plenty of critical barbs.

"You can't have a real comeback if you have any turkeys in there," Petty explained. "Bob told me that the audience comes and goes and praise comes and goes, but you just have to not listen too much." Petty sipped his good-to-the-last-drop coffee. "You never know how things are going to turn out, and I didn't see this year coming, like I said. But maybe next year will be even better."

Howie received a Grammy Award for his production work on John Prine's "The Missing Years". Howie also worked with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Carlene Carter, Roy Orbison, John Hiatt, John Fogerty, Del Shannon, Leslie West, Stevie Nicks, Carl Perkins, Linda Ronstadt, Rosie Flores and Warren Zevon among others. The instruments up for auction (see list to follow) undoubtedly have been in the presence of many legendary musicians. For more information on Howie and video clips please visit his MySpace page: http://myspace.com/howieepstein

All instruments have been inspected and appraised by Top Shelf Guitar Shop. This is a sealed-bid auction. Potential buyers can submit bids on the entire collection or on individual instruments, by sending a letter to Top Shelf Guitar Shop at the address below. Please include in your correspondence: Your name, address, phone number, email address and signature. Acceptable methods of payment: cashier's check, or money order (wire transfer on international purchase) payable to The Estate of Howard Epstein. Buyers pay shipping and insurance (and international customs fees, if applicable).

Bids must be submitted by January 31st, 2007

Top Shelf Guitar Shop
C/O Howie Epstein Estate
2358 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207
(414) 481-8677

Top Shelf Guitar Shop is not affiliated with the Howie Epstein Estate.

Click here for list of instruments

Earlier this week a new music TV channel, called Rave HD, announced it would present the world premiere of "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live From Gatorland."

What's this? Is the Florida native doing a benefit show for the old Florida attraction, damaged and temporarily closed by a Nov. 6 fire?

Turns out, the "Gatorland" in the title referred to the land of the Gators, as in Gainesville, hometown to both Petty and the Florida Gators, where the show was recorded on Sept. 21.

Advised there existed a real Gatorland (one with a long history, a current news issue and a legal trademark) Petty's manager said Friday they would change the name of the show.

Now it will be billed "Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live from Gatorville," said manager Tony Dimitriades.

They're changing the name out of respect for to the park, Dimitriades said.

Meanwhile, Gatorland is pushing forward on its Nov. 24 reopening. Spokeswoman Michelle Harris said a Petty representative she spoke with sounded sympathetic about the attraction's plight, so she tried to work with that.

"We said we'd love to have them play Gatorland's grand opening next weekend," she said. "We extended the offer to them. Maybe they'll take us up."

Click here for RaveHD

Here's the Press Release from the 15th

VOOM'S RAVE HD SCORES
WORLD BROADCAST PREMIERE OF
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS'
SOLD-OUT HOMECOMING CONCERT

"TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: LIVE FROM GATORLAND" ON DECEMBER 15

New York, November 15, 2006 - Solidifying its emerging status as the prime television destination for top music acts, VOOM HD Network's RAVE HD-the first and only 24/7 high definition music channel-will present the world premiere of "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live From Gatorland," a special concert featuring Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. On December 15th at 9 P.M. ET and again at 9 P.M. PT, catch the band as they return to Gainesville, FL, where it all started, to play their first hometown show in 13 years. The performance, part of their current North American concert tour, was shot on September 21st, with Stevie Nicks joining the band on stage for several songs. RAVE HD will air additional showings of this two-hour special event during the holiday season.

Rave HD is a new way to experience music on television. The first-ever 24/7 high definition music channel, Rave HD offers commercial-free programming that harnesses the surround-sound power of Dolby Digital 5.1, and the breathtaking depth and clarity of state-of-the-art HD video technology, to showcase music with a physical and emotional impact that television has never delivered before. Rave HD is one of the VOOM HD Networks, a critically acclaimed collection of 15 high-def channels with programming that also covers sports, video games, movies, art, family fare and news. Rave HD is currently available on channel 9470 on the DISH Network.

For Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Gainesville concert was an emotional and electrifying evening, as it was for the many family, friends, fans and media who attended from all over the world. The band performed songs from their three-decade career, including rarely played gems, influential covers, and songs from Petty's new solo album, Highway Companion. The Gainesville Sun's front-page headline review described the show as "a raucous triumph." To commemorate their return to Gainesville and the band's 30th anniversary, Gainesville's Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan presented the band with the key to the city and proclaimed September 21 "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Day."

Since his band's self-titled debut in 1976, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50-million records, been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, and as a group in 2002, were inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Petty's third solo release, Highway Companion, became Petty's highest-ever chart debut when it was released earlier this year to tremendous critical acclaim. Associated Press calls it "one of Petty's finest albums" and People gave it four stars, citing it as "most definitely worth the journey." Highway Companion is out now on American Recordings.

Additional holiday airings include December 24th at 10 P.M. ET, December 25th at 8 P.M. ET, December 27th at 3 P.M. ET and December 29th at 9 P.M. ET.

THANK YOU!!!

Sean

Happy 56th Birthday
Tom Petty!!!

GAINESVILLE — There is no Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers wing at the Matheson Museum, maintained by the Alachua County Historic Trust in a cozy downtown building, no music video retrospective, or even that freaky-big Mad Hatter hat Petty wore in the Don't Come Around Here No More video.

But if you make your way past the intricately recreated general store and the exhibit about the area's Timucuan Indians, you can have a seat at a long library table, where a nice employee will hand you the 1967 edition of The Hurricane, Gainesville High School's yearbook.

And there, in the junior class section, listed under the "P's," is a guy in regulation white shirt and dark tie, staring from under an unassuming thatch of short blond hair. Nothing about Tommy

Petty suggests his rise to rock stardom within the next decade — like most of the guys in his class, his conservative outfit and neat coiffure say more "Future bank manager" than anything else.

But if you flip toward the middle of the book, you'll see several photos of the various local bands who all get their equipment from Lipham's Music Company. The bands, The Taxmen, The Maundy Quintet and The Epics, are all at their Mersey Beat best, their longish bangs swept magnificently across their eager foreheads.

And there with The Epics, posed languidly against a brick wall around a drum bearing the band's name, is Tommy Petty. His face is still unlined and full of that beautiful prideful innocence that propels a young man to pick up a guitar and dare dream that he, out of all of these beautiful young men, is going to be a star.

Petty's not the only guy who ever made it out of Gainesville to the bright arena lights — The Eagles' Don Felder and Bernie Leadon, who's in that Maundy Quartet picture, are from here, so "a lot of people are interested in the musical history of the area," says Lisa Auel, the museum's director.

But whenever that history's mentioned, it's often in association with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. They're the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted sons of this university town, whose Victorian houses and tree-lined streets would seem to be more a part of a sleepy genteel Georgia than the theme parks and palm trees outsiders might associate with Florida.

Petty's name has come up a lot lately, because that evening, the band will have a triumphant homecoming performance on the University of Florida's campus, their first show here in 13 years, celebrating their 30th anniversary.

As Petty says later that day at a press conference at the O'Connell Center, where they will completely freak out a sold-out crowd, "it wouldn't have made any sense if we didn't play here."

Thomas Earl Petty was born here, went to school here and discovered music here, like a lot of guys in the vibrant 1960s Gainesville band scene. Talk to any old-timer, you'll probably hear a story about seeing the thin blond dude play with the Epics, or with Mudcrutch, pieces of which became The Heartbreakers. They'll talk about Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, who were in Mudcrutch, and Ron Blair, a Georgia native who joined them later with drummer Stan Lynch.

You'll also hear about Tommy's parents, the late Kitty, and the rest of his family, including first cousin Sadie Darnell, a 30-year veteran and former captain of the Gainesville Police Department, 2000's "Florida Law Enforcement Officer of the Year," and current candidate for Alachua County sheriff.

There are "Welcome Home" signs all over town, and in the halls of the Holiday Inn University Center, a cheerful maintenance worker pushing a large trash receptacle correctly guesses that guests lugging suitcases to their rooms are in town for the show.

"Everybody's goin' to see ol' Tom," the man says. "We gonna have a homecoming!"

Yep, everybody's going, at least everybody that could get tickets, which sold out in less than 30 minutes. Tom Petty is on everyone's mind, it seems, and so Lisa Auel's met people at the museum who want to know "where Tom Petty lived, where he played," she says.

It seems that tracing the steps of Tom Petty is as popular a tourist activity in Gainesville as visiting the places in Colonial America bearing the plaque "George Washington slept here."

"Except here," Auel says, "it's 'Tom Petty slept here.' "

'Petty kinda slept here'

Or at least "Tom Petty maybe kinda slept here... we think."

That's what Monta Burt and his wife, Peggy, were told by a guy taking part in a historic home tour that stopped at Laurel Oak Inn, the bright, sprawling Victorian bed and breakfast the Burts own. In a former life, the house was divided into four apartments and, along with a house next door, was Party Central in the late 1960s. The area gained the nickname "Hippie Hill," and one specific hippie was rumored to have bunked in a back bedroom, now Laurel Oak Inn's bright kitchen.

"We had this one lady come in and say 'I can't tell you what I used to do in this house,' " Monta Burt says, pointing to "Before" pictures of electric Kool-Aid-colored walls and general shabbiness. "And this one guy come through and he said 'When I was here, Petty had this place.' This apparently was the party palace."

In interviews, Petty has amusedly disputed the urban legends about all of the houses he's supposedly lived in in Gainesville, saying that after moving out of his parents' home, he only lived in apartments. Burt, whose family lived in Wellington for 10 years, says that even though that rumor about Petty's supposed residence at what is now the Laurel Oak Inn has never been substantiated, it was referred to in the home's official house tour description.

"I never confirmed that he lived here, but there's no doubt he was hanging here," he says. "The town loves that he's from here."

And as cool as it would have been to be able to hang an authenticated "Tom Petty Slept Here" sign over the stainless steel refrigerator, Burt says the rumors are an indication of how important the Heartbreakers are to Gainesville.

"He's big enough," Burt says, "that people would bother starting rumors about places he might have lived."

Where are they now?

"This guy, Dicky Underwood, he works for the city of Gainesville, and this one, Ricky Rucker, is a school teacher in Ocala," Buster Lipham says, his finger moving around a black and white photograph of The Epics, taken in the store's former location on Northeast Sixth Terrace.

"Ricky's brother Rodney Rucker works for the University of Florida. And this guy... " he says deadpanning, indicating a smiling blond kid in a white shirt, "this guy moved out of town."

Tommy Petty may or may not have crashed on a mattress on Hippie Hill, but it's documented fact that he spent a lot of quality time at Lipham's, the store Buster's late dad, Val, opened in 1965. Tommy worked there when he was in high school — the photo from the yearbook is posted on the wall behind the cash register, crowded in with some canceled checks signed by The Allman Brothers and a signed photo of Ray Charles.

"Gainesville was full of music. Tommy was like a lot of the kids, he got into music around the age of 11 or 12," Lipham says. "He came in one day and said 'I'd like a job.' He wanted to be a salesperson. He was really tenacious. If you came in here, you'd better watch out, 'cause Tommy was like a bulldog. He would not let you go 'til you bought something."

One of the clerks turns to a fiftysomething guy behind the counter, his dark shaggy hair the tell-tale sign of his life as a member of the Gainesville music scene.

"Hey, Tom, you knew Tommy, didn't you?" the clerk asks.

Tom Holtz nods. He's worked at Lipham's for 20 years, suggesting the right guitar or bass, and watching subsequent generations of the possibly soon-to-be famous walk in and out. Like Felder, Petty and Leadon, he was part of the scene that sprung up around the college "because there were so many young people to play for. Here you are in the middle of rural Florida, basically South Georgia. What else was there to do?"

Holtz says that most of the bands here at the time emulated the jangly sound of the Beatles and other British bands and America's the Byrds. Holtz and Tommy, who he'd been in a boys choir class with at Gainesville High, were in the scene together, sharing war stories and gigs, and even subbing in each other's bands every once in a while.

"So many," Holtz says, nonchalantly. "One time I filled in for a guy in Mudcrutch for a couple of weeks."

Screeeetch, goes the invisible record needle somewhere in your brain. Hold the phone... so what he's saying here is that, had Fate zigged instead of pulling one of her tricky zags, that he could've maybe have been a Heartbreaker, that maybe he'd be about to give a triumphant homecoming show rather than selling sheet music?

Holtz shrugs.

"I was coming from a three-piece jam band, a little more stream-of-consciousness. For me, the music Mudcrutch was doing was totally different. They were feeling me out," he says, not one bit of regret or "Coulda been me!" bitterness in his voice. "I don't think I was the person they needed."

From what Holtz remembers, Tommy Petty's playing (he was on bass then) was solid but didn't stand out among all the other solid players on the scene. It would be the songwriting skills that he was then just developing that would set him apart, skills based in his very ordinariness.

"He writes about everyday people, the thing that most people care about," Holtz says.

A couple of the guys in the band were in the store a few days ago, browsing and saying hello. Director Peter Bogdanovich, who's working on a documentary about the band, has been in, too. The last time Holtz saw Tommy was when Tommy, by then superstar Tom Petty, was in town 12 years ago for Earl Petty's funeral.

At first, he didn't recognize him under the big hat and coat he was wearing, and the big bodyguard he had with him was hard to see around. But then Tommy got his attention, said hello.

"He's still down to earth. That must be hardest for him to be," Holtz says. "That was cool."

Tattoo expansion

"This is the second round," Laura Campos says, her arms sweeping around a section at the mouth of Beef O' Brady's restaurant. There are about 25 people sitting in booths or around a long table, eating burgers and listening to some guys play Petty's The Waiting in front of a large TV screen where a muted Petty sings his heart out. There had been about 50.

"I know some people who work at the Hilton where the band is staying, and a girl ran into Tom. He signed her copy of his book," Campos says. "I'm so jealous, I could spit."

The 36-year-old manicurist, and Petty fan and owner Daniel McCann, organized this little hootenanny, and a tailgate party that will form later at Campos' parents' house, online. The guests are frequent visitors of some Petty fan sites, including Gonegator.com.

Campos' dad unknowingly hooked her when he took her to see Mudcrutch on the UF campus when she was 4. She's now seen Petty maybe 10 or 15 times — "I've lost count" — and she wears her fandom on her skin, the form of a band logo tattoo on her butt.

"And hell, no, I don't regret it," she says. "The band's so down-to-earth. And their music touches me. It's just good quality rock 'n' roll.... My goal now is to get my tattoo autographed by Tom, and then add it to my tattoo."

Steve Shaley's proving his devotion not with ink but with plane tickets. He and wife Terri flew into Orlando this morning from their home in St. Cloud, Minn., making the pilgrimage to Gainesville to celebrate two anniversaries — the Heartbreakers' 30th and the Shaleys' 23rd.

"Tom Petty's the only one I'd do this for," Steve Shaley says, finishing his drink. "It's been 13 years since he's played here, and I wanted to be a part of it. We just saw him back home in June. But we wanted to see the homecoming, and this was the greatest excuse to take a three-day trip."

Across town, James Lescott, who works at a local hotel, is installed with other fans at The Salty Dog, "which is dirty and old, but a good dirty and old."

In his 30s, Lescott says he's a Petty fan because "they are probably one of the best live acts going.... If heaven were to have a house band God would make it these guys. Just perfect."

Cousin power

The appointed hour is upon us, and all the lucky folks who got tickets, as well as some people hoping to score some outside, have descended on UF and the surrounding area, parking in every lot and lawn that the enterprising neighbors have thought to open up. In front of the O'Connell Center, in the box office line marked "Band and Press Will Call Only," are eight men and women wearing red Sadie Darnell campaign T-shirts.

"I grew up between here and Georgia. How can you not be a Tom Petty fan?" asks Sadie supporter Louise Grimm, "Like the fairy tales. You wanna meet Sadie?"

She looks toward the front of the line, pointing to a woman with short brown hair who's talking to the ticket people. Sadie Darnell gets her tickets, shakes a couple of hands, and walks down the line. She says that some supporters suggested that her Web site read "Law Enforcement Officer of the Year... and Tom Petty's cousin."

"But I said I should do it on my own," she says. "There is a connection, though. Tommy and I both think it's important for young people to know the importance of voting, to try to make the world a better place. In our generation, we thought of voting as a privilege."

So what does Cousin Sadie know about Tommy Petty that the world doesn't?

"He had an incredible sense of humor," she says. "And that most of the family doubted that he was gonna make it. He always said he was gonna be a famous rock 'n' roll musician. I doubted it, too. I was gonna be an airplane pilot, and that didn't happen."

Wow. It seems that for the family, just like everyone else, Tommy Petty was one more talented kid in the yearbook, just an ordinary guy who didn't seem to have any better shot at making it than anyone else. That is, until he did. And just like the rest of Gainesville, Sadie Darnell couldn't be more pleased that he's the one it happened to. After all, Cousin Tommy's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she could be sheriff.

"Isn't that funny?" she says. "Both us, living the dream. That's pretty cool."

Hello,

I work at Fanscape, a New Media Marketing Agency. We are working on the official online Austin City Limits broadcast September 15th- 17th in the AT&T blue room. Tom Petty will be one of the artists featured in this live streaming coverage. We want to let all of the fans who were unable to get to Austin City Limits this year know that they are still able to enjoy the performance online.

LIVE BROADCAST of Performances at Austin City Limits!

Didn't get tickets to Austin City Limits? You can STILL watch Tom Petty perform LIVE as it's happening from Zilker Park in Austin, TX.

Don't miss out! http://blueroom.att.com/ to go to the AT&T blue room and enjoy hours of free, uninterrupted, live streaming coverage from Austin City Limits Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 15th-17th.

The webcast will feature live performances from Tom Petty and more! So check it out!

Thank you for all your help!

Sincerely,

Chris Corces
Fanscape

A plane, a horse, a helicopter, a train, and enough cars to fill a small parking lot are all featured as Petty's various protagonists journey in search of things they think they need (love, sex, beer), often to end up back where they started.

As Petty croons on the aptly titled ''Square One'': ''It took a world of trouble, took a world of tears/Yeah, it took a long time to get back here.''

"Highway Companion" itself marks a return for the singer-songwriter. As with Petty's first album without longtime backing band the Heartbreakers, 1989's "Full Moon Fever," Highway was co-produced by ELO chief (and Petty's fellow Traveling Wilbury) Jeff Lynne, who again keeps his more baroque knob-twiddling tendencies in check.

The result is a close sonic sibling to "Full Moon," though it contains fewer out-and-out rockers. It is also a huge improvement on 2002's Heartbreakers-assisted "The Last DJ," a cantankerous critique of the record industry that seemed to reflect a broader dissatisfaction with life on Petty's part.

Not that the new album is short on bleak moments. The many quests described in "Highway" are fraught with problems, be they physical (an unreadable note in ''This Old Town''; bald tires on the spacey, jazz-tinged ''Night Driver'') or emotional (''Gonna see my daddy's mistress/Gonna buy back her forgiveness,'' he sings on ''Down South,'' while first single ''Saving Grace'' depicts the hunt for salvation by a woman who has traveled so far she no longer knows who she is).

Yet these songs are, in their melancholic way, quite excellent, with Petty demonstrating a creative joie de vivre even when spinning tales decidedly lacking in joie. Had Bob Dylan actually penned the gnomically evocative (and quite Dylanesque) ''Down South,'' it would be far from his worst effort. ''Saving Grace,'' meanwhile, is a great, ominous rumble of a track, somewhat reminiscent of John Lee Hooker's ''Boom Boom,'' that boasts a raft of spiky lead guitar interjections.

Elsewhere, ''Flirting With Time'' features a memorably Byrdsian chorus, while the heartbreaking ''Damaged by Love'' is almost as good as the Petty track it most resembles, ''Free Fallin'.''

True, the clunky-chorused horse tale ''Ankle Deep'' belongs in the songwriting equivalent of a glue factory. But for most of its length, "Highway Companion" is not just a return to square one -- it's also a true return to form.

EW Grade: A-