Most Played Video Clips - Tom Petty's You Don't Know How It Feels was the #38 Most Played Video Clip at VH1.

Tom Petty's Influence Spreads - Lucero - which also includes guitarist Brian Venable, drummer Roy Berry, and bassist John C. Stubblefield-has swiftly become one of Memphis' most popular bands. Another well-known Memphis group, Pawtucket, operates Madjack.

"We were just going to get all the songs down and then shop it around," Nichols says of the band's debut collection. "We played a few shows with Pawtucket, and they said they wanted to put it out."

In the time it's taken the 3-year-old group to cut its debut, Lucero's sound has altered somewhat. "We started out as an alternative country band," Nichols says. "Now Neil Young and Tom Petty have become a big influence . . . There's also an indie-rock feel to a lot of the songs."

One of the most fascinating elements of Lucero's sound in a live setting is its slow-burning incandescence. "On record, especially, most of the songs are fairly slow and soft," says Nichols. "There aren't many rockers . . . That's an important part of what we do."

The band is now plotting its first big tour outside of Memphis-a projected six-week jaunt. "We're taking a big step here," Nichols says. "We've got to make sure we don't rest on our laurels. It's time to leave town."

Billy Bowman, thanks to his fine first collection, "Believe." This Boston-based rocker has been making waves locally this year with a sound that seems to proudly pay tribute to the no-frills sound of early Tom Petty and John Mellencamp. Bowman has an instantly engaging voice that is, by turns, warmly romantic and aggressively raspy. Throughout the set, he flexes clever, relationship-driven lyrics in arrangements that are appropriately spare.

Bowman's consistently strong songs and equally solid musicianship render "Believe" a smooth, notably fleshy recording. He may have crafted this project on a shoestring budget, but it sure doesn't sound like it-particularly on the uptempo set opener, "Tear My Heart Right Out," as well as on the introspective, single-worthy "I Remember."

For additional details, visit his Web site (Click here)

Napster Just Tip Of Piracy Iceberg - (From the LA Times) blah, blah, blah... Sometimes Free Music Leads to a Big Payoff. What the music moguls seem to overlook is that free music, somewhere down the line, can translate into a big payoff. Such was the logic when Tom Petty gave out his single "Free Girl Now" on MP3.com last year. His record label, Warner Bros., pulled the plug after a few days. But some 150,000 people downloaded the song--meaning that Petty can target merchandising efforts directly to those listeners. It's also likely that he picked up thousands of new (and record-buying) fans in the process... blah, blah, blah.

Gone Gator Review - Please read the review at go.com. This appears when you visit go.com and search for "Tom Petty". Gone Gator received the highest rating (3 stars) and is listed #1 of 16.

Happy New Year! - Happy New Year everybody! I found this new review of Anthology this morning. Thought you would enjoy it! My favorite line/lines are in bold.

Two CDs of the best of everything Tom Petty
By MIKE BELL
Calgary Sun