Biography » Timeline » 2006 - 2010

Time Line: 2006 - 2010

2006
Jan. 12-22, '06 Staging of Into The Night, a short wordless theatre piece by Chimaera Physical Theater of Massachusetts as part of QuestFest in Baltimore/ USA. The play features the songs: Clap Hands and Tom Traubert's Blues. Created and performed by Mollye Maxner and Kelly Parsley.
Jan. 19, '06 Release of the UK edition of Mac Montandon's: Innocent When You Dream - The Tom Waits Reader. It has a different cover from the US edition and also a slightly different name: Innocent When You Dream - Tom Waits The Collected Interviews (Orion, 2006).
Jan. 19, '06 World premiere of feature documentary The Ground Truth - The Human Cost Of War at the Sundance Film Festival 2006 (January 19th - 29th.). The documentary features the song Day After Tomorrow. Feature documentary that looks at how US soldiers are trained to kill, and the effects of killing and combat on soldiers and their families returning from the Iraq War. Produced and directed by Patricia Foulkrod and in association with Operation Truth, an non-profit organization created by Iraq veteran Paul Rieckhoff.
Jan. 19, '06 Tom Waits Wins Landmark Spanish Legal Judgement. "Tom Waits has won a landmark legal victory in Spain, establishing his moral rights in a case brought against car manufacturer Volkswagen-Audi (VAESA) and a Spanish production company for adapting one of Waits' songs and impersonating his voice in a television commercial. It is the first time that such moral rights -- protecting the personality and reputation of writers and authors -- have been established in a Spanish court, acknowledging an artist's voice as his creative work. The judgement, rendered by the Appeal Court of Barcelona, also recognized that VAESA and the production company, Tandem Company Guasch, had infringed the Intellectual Property Rights of both Waits and Hans Kusters Music, Waits' music publisher in Spain. The commercial, for Audi cars, was originally screened in Spain in 2000. As well as having much the same melodic structure as the Tom Waits' song 'Innocent When You Dream', the commercial's music was arranged like the song and featured a Tom Waits' vocal impersonation. At the time of making the commercial Tandem Campany Guasch had sought permission to use Waits' original version of 'Innocent When You Dream,' a request he rejected. "Now they understand the words to the song better," says Waits. "It wasn't 'Innocent When You Scheme' it was 'Innocent When You Dream.'" (Source: PR/ Newswire January 19, 2006)
Feb. 2-19, '06 Staging of "Follies of Grandeur" Inside the Girls of the Ivar Theater. A new play by Ross MacLean directed by Mark Finley. Hollywood's Ivar Theater was an infamous dive - and by 1978, the last standing Burlesk House in the United States. Lewd and notorious in its day, the Ivar inspired lyrics in the songs of Tom Waits, and photographer Garry Winogrand's images of the Ivar strippers have been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Playwright Ross MacLean was the Ivar's stage manager and spotlight operator for two years. "Follies of Grandeur" resurrects the Ivar theater, the strippers who performed there and the men who loved them, as it follows the career path of a young drifter who finds a home on the Ivar stage (Theater for the New City ~ 155 First Avenue NYC)
Feb. 9-19, '06 Premiere of "Absolute Wilson" at The Berlin Film Festival (Berlin/ Germany). Documentary feature written, produced and directed by Katharina Otto-Bernstein (New Yorker Films) on theatre director Robert Wilson. Towards the end of the documentary Waits is shown working with and commenting on Wilson. Further reading: Absolute Wilson official site
Feb. 9, '06 - Mar. 4, '06 Staging of the dance production No Stronger Than A Flower by Jan de Schynkel (Scottish Dance Theatre). The production uses the songs: Black Box Theme, The Briar And The Rose and Fawn. Spring tour opens at the Dundee Rep Theatre and tours to Edinburgh Festival Theatre, The Riley Theatre, Leeds, The Place, London and Groningen in Holland.
Feb. 27, '06 The Travel Art Dance Company will perform Bazaar. Choreographed by artistic director, Meah Velik-Lord, and has been expanded from an earlier version of the work first performed in 2003. Set to a selection of music by Tom Waits, this performance combines improvisation with choreographed dance, acrobatics and theatrical elements to create a series of eight vignettes. Loop bar, 23 Meyers Place. Melbourne/ Australia.
Mar. 4, '06 - Apr. 29, '06 Gallery Argus Fotokunst in Berlin/ Germany is presenting Twilight of the Beats - Allen Ginsberg & Co. until the end of April. The black and white photographs were taken by Brian Graham on the Lower East Side mainly in the '80s. Included are shots of Allen Ginsberg, Harry Smith, Tom Waits and Robert Frank.
Mar. 11, '06 An Evening With Redux, A Musical Fundraising Event in Charleston/ USA, featuring: Bill Carson, Michael Flynn (of Slowrunner), Jonathan Gray (of Jump, Little Children) and the New Music Collective performing the Tom Waits album Rain Dogs in it's entirety.
Mar. 16-18, '06 Screening of low budget film Gun Street Girl, at the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers annual film festival. Held at the Stanford Perrot Theater at the Alberta College of Art and Design/ Canada. Film by Keely Bruce and Don Best, loosly based on the Tom Waits song. (Source: The Calgary Journal, April 4, 2006. "Filmmakers compete on budget" by Blair Braitenbach)
Apr. 14/15, '06 The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline Massachusetts/ USA will be screening Big Time as part of their Midnight shows.
Apr. 19, '06 The Sparklehorse official site boasts that a new album is finished and a tentative release date is set for September, 2006. The new album will include a previously unreleased track with Tom Waits on piano from the It's a Wonderful Life sessions (August 28, 2001).
Apr. 22, '06 - Jun. 11, '06 The Ahmanson Theatre (Music Center, Los Angeles/ USA) will host The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets.
Apr. 25, '06 Re-release of Red Hot + Blue, A Tribute To Cole Porter. Shout! Factory video and audio 2-disk compilation benefiting AIDS research and relief. With all proceeds going to The Red Hot Organization. Featuring B&W music video for: It's Alright With Me. Directed by Jim Jarmusch. Originally issued in 1990.
May, '06 Release of the revised and updated edition of Jay S. Jacobs': Wild Years - The Music And Myth Of Tom Waits.
May 12, '06 The second annual MusiCares (a Grammy Awards subsidiary) MAP Fund benefit concert, honoring singer/songwriter/guitarist and Metallica co-founder James Hetfield and concert promoter and manager Bill Silva, will be held on May 12 at The Music Box @ Fonda. All proceeds will benefit the MusiCares MAP Fund, which provides members of the music community access to addiction recovery treatment regardless of their financial situation. Hetfield will be honored as the recipient of the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his dedication and support of the MusiCares MAP Fund and his devotion to helping other addicts with the recovery process. Silva will be the recipient of the MusiCaresFrom the Heart Award for his unconditional friendship and dedication to the mission and goals of the organization. The evening will feature a buffet dinner and performances by a range of special musical guests. Tom Waits and Larry Taylor will be performing a few songs. Tickets are offered at three price levels: floor placement in a private living room grouping of 10 for $10,000; floor seating for $1,000 each; and balcony seating for $250 each. For ticket information, please call Wynnie Wynn at 310.392.3777. (Source: MusiCares official site. April 24, 2006). Setlist: Tango 'Til They're Sore, Invitation To The Blues, Lucky Day,You Can Never Hold Back Spring.
MusiCares program, list of performers for the May 12th benefit
May 16, '06 "Ryan Gosling and Tom Waits are toplining The Good Heart, the next film from Icelandic director Dagur Kari (Noi Albinoi), says Variety. Katapult Film Sales is handling worldwide sales rights for the film, which will begin principal photography this fall. Gosling plays a young homeless man named Lucas who is taken under the wing of Jacques (Waits), a bar owner from his fifth heart attack. Knowing his days are numbered, Jacques decides to train Lucas to take over his bar. Skuli Fr. Malmquist and Thor Sigurjonsson are producing for Zik Zak. Joni Sighvatsson executive produces." (Source: Variety. May 16, 2006 as published on comingsoon.net)
Jun. 30, '06 Robert Wilson once more mentioned the rumoured upcoming collaboration with Waits on "The Shadow" theatre project (an adaption of the Hans-Christian Andersen story of the same name, as previously mentioned in Danish music magazine Gaffa, October 2004): "I've done four works with Tom Waits, and we're working on a new piece, Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Shadow'.'' (Source: Best Life magazine, p. 63. July/ August, 2006)
Jun. 30, '06 - Jul. 3, '06 The November Theatre will be performing their production of The Black Rider (non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al.) at the Magnetic North Festival June 30th and 1, 2, 3th July Reid Theatre, St Johns/ Canada.
Jul. 5, '06 Tom Waits announces tour plans: "Iconoclast and reclusive touring artist TOM WAITS is making an unprecedented move by taking his always unpredictably stunning live show on the road, mostly in cities (Atlanta, Memphis, Louisville, Nashville) where he hasn't been seen on stage since the mid-to-late '70s. As for Asheville, NC, Tom has never played a gig; he hasn't performed in Akron, OH or Detroit since the '80s. The most recent stop on this extraordinary tour is Chicago, where Waits played the Chicago Theater for three sold out nights on his "Mule Variations" tour in '99. "We need to go to Tennessee to pick up some fireworks, and someone owes me money in Kentucky," says Waits about why he's chosen this particular time and route to tour. When this two-time Grammy-winner last performed live in 2004, tickets sold out in hours, if not minutes. His most recent live date in London sold out in 30 minutes, with over 150,000 ticket requests received within the first hour. Waits' three previous North American concerts (two in Vancouver, Canada and one in Seattle) were also snapped up in record time. "His concert was a nostalgic trip through freak shows, murder ballads, and ruminations on lost love," wrote Charles R. Cross in Rolling Stone after 2004 performance at Seattle's Paramount Theater. "He didn't so much sing these songs as he wheezed, whistled, and shouted them, shaking his fist like a craps player on a roll. Mining his recent Real Gone... Waits created a world of haunting characters adrift in a bygone age." In other news, Paste magazine has just issued its collector's edition citing the "100 Best Living Songwriters," with Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan (longtime co-writer, co-producer and wife) clocking in at #4. According to Paste, "In literature, only a handful of writers have pulled off the near impossible. In music, it happens on every Tom Waits recording." Look for local ads in the regional papers for on sale dates. The first show in Atlanta goes on sale July 8." (Source: Anti records press release. July 5, 2006). Further reading: Performances 2006-2010

"When Waits announced his eight-city Orphans tour last month, starved fans were ecstatic. The tour, named for the three-disc Orphans box set of rarities and B-sides due in stores in November, takes Waits through eight cities in the South and Midwest. Despite widespread complaints in most cities of problems with Ticketmaster's ordering systems, seats were snapped up in record time. According to publicist Paige Travis of Knoxville's AC Entertainment, promoter of the show (here), Memphis sold out in about an hour, while tickets in Asheville, N.C., the only city on the tour where Waits has never performed, went in 20 minutes. Nashville, one of four cities on the tour where Waits hasn't appeared since the '70s, sold out in approximately 15 minutes. "I had three reports on Nashville -- first 15 minutes, then 10, then five," says Travis. "It was like the big fish story in reverse." Those lucky enough to score seats had to follow a strange (for Memphis, at any rate) and rigid obstacle course to get their tickets. Waits' management set up the stringent ticket-handling measures to ensure that tickets ended up in the hands of fans at face value. Though details vary slightly from venue to venue, in Memphis tickets could be purchased only online or by phone through Ticketmaster. Purchasers could only buy two tickets with any one credit card. Certain parts of the Orpheum have been designated "premium seating." Nonpremium seat purchasers had the option of having their tickets mailed to them. But premium seat buyers must pick up their tickets at the Orpheum's will-call booth beginning at 4 p.m. the day of the show. Purchasers must bring a government-issued ID, the credit card used to purchase the tickets, and their guest. The tickets will then be punched and the concertgoers wrist-banded. Punched tickets and untampered wristbands must be presented for admittance to the theater." (Source: "Iconic Waits Returns To City", The Commercial Appeal. August 4, 2006. By Mark Jordan)
Jul. 7, '06 Premiere of "De Wondere Wereld Van Waits". Belgian show featuring ca. 20 covers of Waits songs (in Belgian/ Dutch)
Jul. 17, '06 Released: "I Love Led Zeppelin". Comic book by Ellen Forney (Fantagraphics Books, ISBN 1-56097-730-2). Has a story called: "The Night Tom Waits Poured Me A Bourbon On The Rocks (With Julie Battersby)".
Aug. 24, '06 "Tom Waits will be returning as one of the judges for the 2006 International Songwriting Competition (ISC). This will be his second consecutive year as one of the premiere judges. ISC is a competition which is open to musicians, artists, and songwriters at every level from amateur to professional. ISC will give away over $150,000 in cash and prizes, including a grand prize package of $25,000 cash and over $20,000 in merch. Plus, you know, free press, publicity, and exposure." (Further reading: ISC officail site)
Sep. 18, '06 The Broken Clock Cabaret brings its production Inside A Broken Clock: A Tom Waits Peepshow, "a small-scale spectacular featuring dance, puppetry, and risque vaudeville weirdness, set to the music of Tom Waits'' to the stage once again. October 5, 6 and 7 at Elk's Lodge in Austin, Texas/ USA. The music is played live by Austin's No Salvation Army Band.
Sep. 19, '06 ANTI Records has Bottom Of The World for download on its site. This song featured on the Long Gone soundtrack and is track # 5 of the Brawlers, one of the three cd's of the upcoming Orphansrelease.
Sep. 20, '06 Waits has contributed an autographed jacket from his personal collection to an auction benefitting the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California. The jacket is his Levis size 44 corduroy jacket signed with a message to the winner: "To the new owner: I raised a lot of hell in this jacket, but it's a lucky one. My wife wants me to get rid of it cause it's all ripped up. May the new wearer wear it well."
Oct. 3,4-8, '06 Screening of Big Time at the Alamo Downtown theater in Austin/ USA.
Oct. 5-8, '06 Annual Tom Waits fans Straydogs Party in Austin/ Texas (USA). Hosted by Cheryl Dillis and Stephanie Stone. With: The Box Spring Hogs, Spank Dance Company and Inside a Broken Clock.
Oct. 3, '06 ANTI Records will have You Can Never Hold Back Spring for download on its site. The song is track #2 of the Bawlers, one of the three cd's of the upcoming Orphans release. Followed by downloads of Road To Peace (Oct. 17th) and Long Way Home (Oct. 23rd).
Oct. 14, '06 Premiere of "Tom Tribute" at Het Kruithuis, Groningen/ The Netherlands. With: Leon Tol, Ruigrok, De Graaff and Brunt.
Oct. 20, '06 Tenor saxophonist Frank Vicari died in New York City. Vicari toured with Waits in the 1970's and appeared on the albums Small Change, Foreign Affairs and Blue Valentine.
Oct. 23, '06 James Naughton will appear in Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night as a "Monday Night Live" fundraising event at La Jolla Playhouse, Chicago/ USA. Naughton will take on songs by: Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer and Randy Newman. (Source: "Chicago & City of Angels Star Sings in Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night at La Jolla" by Ernio Hernandez. Playbill. September 22, 2006)
Oct. 24, '06 ANTI Records will be streaming several audio clips of the songs on Orphans, starting on October 24 until November 7. Each clip will be on the website for one week only.
Nov. 7, 06 Amazon.com has a video clip online of Waits performing: You Can Never Hold Back Spring (Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Asheville, NC/ USA. August 2, 2006), and lists song samples for all the tracks on Orphans.
Nov. 9, '06 Release of the video for Lie To Me Baby. Anti/ Epitaph, 2006. Filmed in the backyard of Little Amsterdam restaurant, Petaluma/ USA.
Screenshot from the video promoting Lie To Me Baby (Anti/ Epitaph, 2006)
Nov. 11, '06 Dutchdog's Orphans pre-release party at Café Theater Borra. Amersfoort/ The Netherlands.
Nov. 17, '06 First batch of Orphans set has been made available to the public in Europe and USA.
Nov. 21, '06

Scheduled release of the long awaited 3-disc Orphans set: "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards." European release: November 20. "The one and only TOM WAITS is set to release a 3CD set titled ORPHANS: BRAWLERS, BAWLERS AND BASTARDS. It's a wide-ranging collection of 54 songs, including 30 new recordings, equaling over three hours of rare and never-before heard music with a 94 page booklet. "Orphans are rough and tender tunes. Rhumbas about mermaids, shuffles about trainwrecks, tarantellas about insects, madrigrals about drowning," says Waits. "Scared, mean, orphans songs of rapture and melancholy. Songs that grew up hard. Songs of dubious origin rescued from cruel fate and now left wanting only to be cared for. Show that you are not afraid and take them home. They don't bite, they just need attention." Each of the three CDs is separately grouped and sub-titled - "Brawlers," "Bawlers" and "Bastards" - to capture the full spectrum of Waits' ranging and roving musical styles. "Brawlers" is chock full of raucous blues and full-throated juke joint stomp, "Bawlers" contains Celtic and country ballads, waltzes, lullabies, piano and classic lyrical Waits' songs, while "Bastards" is filled with experimental music and strange tales. In addition to the new work, Orphans features a number of tracks finding a home on a Waits' album for the first time - songs originally recorded for the cinema, the theatre and other projects. They include Waits' unique interpretations of songs by such extraordinarily diverse talents as The Ramones, Daniel Johnston, Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht, Leadbelly, Kerouac and Bukowski." (Source: Anti Records August 16, 2006)

Johnny Brewton (2006): "Orphans was designed in the small press tradition of a limited edition letterpress book. Intended to be printed with handset type on an old hand crank Ietterpress. I really wanted this to function as an actual book. Durable, tactile packaging was deliberately chosen to encourage people to interact with the book and keep it from becoming too precious. Solid and well built like an old car. This set is constructed to stand the test of time. Someone could read this as a book of short stories, poems and verse or accompany the music and read along while listening... Elements for the book were derived (scrounged) from thrift shops and swap meets and include hundred year old library discards, newspaper clippings of strange information, old 78 records, along with a box of Tom's snapshot photographs." (Source: Orphans promo pack. November 2006)
Orphans album cover (Source: Anti Records, August 2006)
Orphans bus stop bench advertisment. Silverlake district, Los Angeles/ USA. Photo: N.N./ Tom Waits Library
Nov. 27, '06 Waits is guest on the CBS "Late Show with David Letterman" (USA). Performs Lie To Me
Nov. 28, '06 Waits is guest on the Comedy Central "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (USA). Performs Day After Tomorrow
Dec. 1, '06 Sideshow S�ance (The Gatmo sessions vol. 3) has been released. With Waits on vocals and as guest musician on several tracks. Further reading: Gatmo official site
Dec. 4, '06 "Public Demands More 'Orphans': Tom Waits' 3-CD Set Flying Out of Stores"; Los Angeles, CA -- In response to the stellar reviews and tremendous demand for Tom Waits' just-released limited edition 3-CD set "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards" (released Nov. 21 on Anti-), a new "paperback" version of the collection is quickly being assembled for immediate release. The new version -- not a limited edition release -- contains all 56 tracks that are found on the collector's edition, bound within a scaled down 24 page "paperback" version of the "Orphans" booklet." (Source: Anti Records press release as published on Market Wire site. December 4, 2006)

"Tom Waits is back on European Top 100 Albums at No. 14 with his 'Orphans' (Anti) collection, which stands at No. 5 in four markets, debuting in Holland, Norway and Denmark and climbing from No. 20 in the Belgian region of Flanders. Its U.K. entry, despite rapturous press reviews for the three-CD set, is more modest, at No. 49. Waits` last debut on the pan-European chart was at No. 9 with 'Real Gone' in 2004." (Source: "Beatles find 'love' from fans on the Euro charts", by Paul Sexton. December 3, 2006. Monstersandcritics.com)

"Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards: Peak position: The Billboard 200 #74 on December 09, 2006. Top Independent Albums: 2." (Source: Billboard album chart, December 2006)

"The album finished its first week with U.S. sales of 21,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Yet on its Nov. 21 release date, retailers told Billboard that Epitaph/Anti- distributor the Alternative Distribution Alliance reported it had sold out of the disc by about 1:38 p.m... Anti- issued the album as a limited-edition boxed set, and Epitaph/Anti- founder Brett Gurewitz says the label printed up about 60,000 units for North America. The box's suggested retail price is $49.98. "We didn't know how many to make," Gurewitz says. "It's three hours of music, and it's selling for a lot of money. We tried to figure out how many to make so we wouldn't run out before Christmas."... As of now, most indie retailers should be stocked, but Gurewitz says the label will reassess the situation if it appears the album will sell out. "We don't want the record not in stores during Christmas," he says." (Source: "The Indies: Tom Waits For No One", Billboard.bizz. December 9, 2006)
Dec. 7, '06 Waits turns 57.
Dec. 23, '06 Tom Waits Christmas tribute show at the Mercury Caf�, Denver (USA) by John Common and friends: Eli Mishkin (Hot IQs), Angie Stevens, Josh Novak, Adam Lancaster (Morning After Records), Marty Jones, Corey Teruya and many others. (Source: Mercury Caf� official site, 2006)
2007
Jan. 13, '07 Annual Tom Waits Tribute Night at Sam Bonds Garage in Eugene, Oregon/ USA. With Mood Area 52 playing "Raindogs" and special guests.
Jan. 20, '07 Epitaph Records and other independent record labels have signed a landmark deal to create a one-stop licensing shop for the online distribution of music (Worldwide Independent Network: WIN). The agreement allows Merlin to cut deals with downloading sites and other digital platforms for artists from dozens of independent labels.
Jan. 20, '07 The DVD concert documentary "Burma Shave" (Alpha Centauri Entertainment: ace 11141) from September 2006 has been pulled back from the (German) market after Waits/ Spie� & Schumachertook legal actions against several online suppliers.
Jan. 21, '07 Tom Waits tribute night with Henk Gubbels, Peter Cramer and guest musicians at Caf� Marleen in Groningen/ Netherlands.
Jan. 22, '07 Jim Jarmusch has uploaded 3 video shorts featuring Waits (The Garage Tapes: Relaxation, Murder In The Red Barn and Hagfish) on the Jonas Mekas guest film makers page.
Jan. 25, '07 Waits has settled his lawsuit against Adam Opel AG and their advertising agency over television commercials that he says mimicked his vocal style without his permission. Waits said he would donate his net proceeds to charity.
Jan. 27, '07 The 5 Cent Coffee trio is staging Everything's a Dollar in this Box (The songs of Tom Waits on cheap instruments), at the 21 Grand, Oakland/ USA.
Jan. 27, '07 Tom Waits tribute (TOM Tribute) with Leon Tol, Thijs van der Poll, Pieter Jan Cramer van der Boogaart, Dion Nijland, Louis ter Burg and Arend Bouwmeester at the Isala Theater in Capelle Aan Den IJssel/ Netherlands.
Feb. 2, '07 Tom Waits tribute (TOM Tribute) with Leon Tol, Thijs van der Poll, Pieter Jan Cramer van der Boogaart, Dion Nijland, Louis ter Burg and Arend Bouwmeester at the Stadsschouwburg: Mgr. Claessensstraat 2, Sittard-Geleen/ Netherlands
Feb. 7, '07 Tom Waits tribute night at the Cadillac Lounge. 1296 Queen St. Toronto/ Canada
Feb. 11, '07 Tom Waits Tribute Night at the Lava Lounge. 1533 N. La Brea Ave. Hollywood, California/ USA. Featuring the Boozehounds, Cocktail Shakers, Jay and Bosco 50cent Haircut, Jeffrey Damnit, KC 29 Mules, Lynda Kaye, and Barbara Ann Duffy
Feb. 16, '07 Tom Waits tribute show by The Rain Dogs at Peabody's Ale House, 544 N. Main St., Oshkosh/ USA
Feb. 17, '07 Tom Waits cover show by The WaitsWatchers in Kunstencentrum Kaleidoscoop: Molenstraat 50, Antwerp/ Belgium
Feb. 17, '07 Tom Waits Tribute Show with various musicians at the Solstice Cafe: 529 Pandora Street, Victoria bc/ Canada
Mar. 1, '07 Small Change cover photographer Joel Brodsky has died. He succumbed to an apparent heart attack at his home in Stamford. USA.
Mar. 10, '07 Tom Waits tribute (TOM Tribute) with Leon Tol, Thijs van der Poll, Pieter Jan Cramer van der Boogaart, Dion Nijland, Louis ter Burg and Arend Bouwmeester at De Schakel: Nijverheidsstraat 2B, Heerhugowaard/ Netherlands.
Mar. 11, '07 Jitterbug Boy on Beatnik Beach Radio Show, featured special guest Paul Body talking about 1950s rhythm & blues records and the LA Sunset Strip nightclub scene. He also answered questions about Waits and Chuck E. Weiss in the 1970s.
Mar. 14, '07 Small Time Napoleons An Evening Dedicated To Tom Waits at Mau Mau, 265 Portobello Road, London/ England. Presented by Alien Jazz Party.
Mar. 17, 07 Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica featured a remarkable article by father Antonia Spadaro, discussing Waits' work and career: "Tom Waits: 'E L'Alba Esplose Come Una Frustata".
Mar. 19, '07 The Book Of Knots released Traineater (Anti Records). With a cameo by Waits and Kathleen Waits-Brennan on the track Pray.
Mar. 23, '07 Temptation - a celebration of music by Tom Waits. The Umbrella Revolution, Rundle Park, East Terrace, Adelaide/ Australia. Presented by Huckleberry Swedes.
Mar. 24, '07 Belly of a Drunken Piano - a tribute to Tom Waits (Stewart D'Arrietta), part of the Stonnington Jazz Festival. Ormond Hall, Melbourne/ Australia.
Mar. 24, '07 Tom Waits tribute hosted by Wyman Reese at the Press Restaurant: 129 Harvard Ave, Claremont/ USA.
Apr. 4, '07 Tom Waits tribute (TOM Tribute) with with Leon Tol, Thijs van der Poll, Pieter Jan Cramer van der Boogaart, Dion Nijland, Louis ter Burg and Arend Bouwmeester at the Schouwburg aan de Parade, Den Bosch/ Netherlands;
Apr. 7, '07 Tom Waits tribute (TOM Tribute) with with Leon Tol, Thijs van der Poll, Pieter Jan Cramer van der Boogaart, Dion Nijland, Louis ter Burg and Arend Bouwmeester at Schouwburg de Meerpaal, Dronten/ Netherlands
Apr. 7, '07 Waits honored at the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (BAFICI, Argentina) at the Teatro Presidente Alvear at 6 pm. There was a 90 minute Q&A and Waits sang two songs: You Can Never Hold Back Spring and Tom Traubert's Blues
Apr. 12, '07 Tom Waits tribute (TOM Tribute) with Leon Tol, Thijs van der Poll, Pieter Jan Cramer van der Boogaart, Dion Nijland, Louis ter Burg and Arend Bouwmeester at Cultuurcentrum Griffioen: Uilenstede 106, Amsterdam/ Netherlands
Apr. 13/ 14, '07 Encore performance of Everything's a Dollar in this Box: The songs of Tom Waits on cheap instruments in Oakland, CA. by The 5 Cent Coffee Trio
Apr. 16, '07

Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan donated two of Waits' "oil spot photos" as previously printed in Zoetrope's All-Story 2005 Winter issue (November 2, 2005) to The Farm To Feast Auction, 2007(online auction running from April 16, to May 16, 2007, with proceeds going to Santa Rosa's Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm in order to support tuition assistance). Pictures sold for $ 3.000,-. Further reading: Farm To Feast online auction
May 1, '07 RollingStone.com (Rock&Roll Daily) posted their "Top 25 most underappreciated artists ever", with Waits at #1
May 4, '07 Waits appeared on the 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' NBC TV show. Taped at the Orpheum Theater, San Francisco/ USA. Waits performed: "Lucinda/ Ain't Goin' Down To The Well ". SFist (2007): "It was kind of amusing to see Tom Waits perform to a crowd who didn't pay to see him. At least half the people around us had a look of, "What. The. Hell. Is this?" on their faces as he performed a song from his new album, complete with dust-raising foot stomping." (Source: "Conan the Triumphant", SFist.com. May 4, 2007)
May 24 , '07 Release of The Many Lives Of Tom Waits (Amazon link). Omnibus Press, ISBN: 184449585X/ 978-1844495856, 400-page hardcover biography by Patrick Humphries
May 26, '07 Stewart D’Arrietta performs Belly Of A Drunken Piano, his cabaret celebrating the music of Tom Waits, at the Riverside Theatre in Sydney/ Australia
May 31, '07 Release of Carny: Americana On The Midway. Umbrage Editions, ISBN: 1884167667/ 978-1884167669, 90-page hardcover photobook by Peter Fenton/ Virginia Lee Hunter with Waits' lyrics of Circus
Jun. 7, '07 In celebration of the All-Story's ten-year anniversary, Zoetrope made available a small number of magazines from their archives. In June, they released two issues, including Vol. 9 No. 4. (Winter 2006) designed by Waits
Jun. 26, '07 Release of "Diamond In Your Mind" (live performance of "Diamond In Your Mind" from the Healing The Divide benefit concert: live at Lincoln Center in New York/ USA September 21, 2003). With The Kronos Quartet and Greg Cohen. Released as a digital single on iTunes and eMusic (same version as on the full album: "Healing The Divide: A Concert For Peace And Reconciliation", July 10, 2007)
Jul. 10, '07 Release of "Healing The Divide - A Concert For Peace And Reconliliation" (recording of the Healing The Divide benefit concert from September 21, 2003). The CD has the following songs from the Waits/ Cohen/ Kronos Quartet set: Way Down In The Hole, God's Away On Business, Lost In The Harbour, Diamond In Your Mind. When asked how he found himself sharing the stage in what was primarily an evening of sacred traditions in music, Waits replied, "I'm no fool. It's a spiritual insurance policy. Hell, at my age, the next group I put together, everyone may be playing a harp. All kidding aside, I owed His Holiness a favor. He did all my papers in school." (Source: ANTI Records press release "Tom Waits Joins Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass and His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Healing The Divide - A Concert For Peace And Reconliliation". May 21, 2007). According to Waits, “Working with the Kronos Quartet was like firing a .38 Special with a clam shell holster: beauty meets brains.” (Source: ANTI Records press release "Tom Waits And The Kronos Quartet With Greg Cohen Release Digital Single "Diamond In Your Mind" June 26th". June 20, 2007)
Aug. 9-12, '07 International Tom Waits fan meeting in Hitra/ Norway (annual Straydogs party VII). Hosted by: Sigurd Aamodt, Stein-Ivar Hansen and Outi Sillanpää
Sep. 4, '07 DVD re-release of Night On Earth (Criterion). Soundtrack by Tom Waits (1991)
Sep. 18, '07 Waits comments on Ray Bierl's new CD "Any Place I Hang My Hat": "No one knows how to weave you into a song quite like Ray Bierl. the music on this record is down home elegant. You can hear the highway in his voice. From road dust to Stardust and every town in between." (Source: Any Place I Hang My Hat liner notes, 2007). Further reading: The Heritage
Sep. 25, '07 Tompkins Square release of the 3-CD box set "People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938". The set features 70 songs (over 30 of which have never been reissued before) of death, destruction, and disaster, recorded by black and white performers from the dawn of American roots recording. Package comes with a 52-page booklet featuring an introduction by Tom Waits. (Source: "Tompkins Square Gathers Depressing Songs for Box Set Tom Waits writes anthology's introduction", Pitchfork Media. Posted by Dave Maher July 13, 2007)
Sep. 28 - Oct. 28, '07 Stewart D'Arrietta's cabaret Tom Waits For No Man is coming to Studio 3 - Riverside studios London/ UK (Source: Stewart D'Arrietta official site, 2007)
Sep. 31, '07 First rumours about the 2008 summer tour
Oct. 19, '07 Waits donated one of his autographed "oil spot photos" auctioned online at Charity Folks with proceeds going to ACLU of Southern California. Picture sold for $ 1.300,-. ACLU is fighting to preserve and expand the rights guaranteed by the USA bill of rights
Oct. 27-28, '07 Waits and the Kronos Quartet included on the bill for Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit at the Shoreline Amphitheatre near San Francisco
Shoreline Amphitheatre. Date: Oct. 28, 2007. Credits: photography by Dan Bournay
Nov. 1, '07 Release of "The Early Years: The Lyrics of Tom Waits 1971-1983", 208-page hardcover (Ecco, imprint of Harper Collins Publishers) with lyrics in English
Nov. 7, '07 Waits appeared twice on this week's Theme Time Radio Hour, Bob Dylan's weekly radio show. The show was "Head To Toe", about body parts. "Dylan introduced Tom's first part saying that "most people don't know this - but me and Tom Waits exchange tape cassette messages back and forth, and have for years". He played one of Tom's recent "tape messages" from his mailbox, which does sound like it was recorded on tape cassette. Tom starts by thanking Bob for the investment advice and then talks about a strange law in China that prevents a man from seeing another man's wife's feet at the penalty of murder. Tom then re-appears later in the show on tape again (I believe a first that Bob has had a "guest" appear more than once in a single show) and Tom tells a story of a man who lost an eye and replaced it with a bottle opener to open beer bottles in the bar with his eye socket." (Source: Tim Swadding email. November 2007)
Nov. 7, '07 DVD release of the documentary "Absolute Wilson" (2006), by Katharina Otto-Bernstein on Robert Wilson. Towards the end of the documentary Waits is shown working with and commenting on Wilson
Nov. 27, '07 Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan have both signed an open letter addressed to U.S. president George W. Bush requesting him to end to the blockade against Cuba and stop impeding cultural exchange between the two nations: "We are writing you as representatives of the cultural sphere in the United States. We write you as American citizens. We write to express our dismay at your administration’s continuing hostility towards Cuba. We write to express our opposition to policies that keep us divided from our Cuban counterparts, preventing cultural interchange between our two countries. We believe the time has come to move towards cooperation and constructive relations with Cuba. The present policies deny such possibilities of friendship and cultural sharing. We further note that cultural interchanges and relationships are also modes of communication and expression. In denying us the possibility of engaging in such exchanges and relationships, we are being denied our fundamental rights as guaranteed by the 1st, 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution." (Source: Cuba Research and Analysis Group CRAG) . November 27, 2007)
Dec. 7, '07 Waits turned 58
Dec. 18, '07 U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation to undo a 50-year-old exemption that lets big radio companies air songs without paying record labels or performers any royalties. For decades, the $20 billion radio broadcasting industry has paid royalties to songwriters and music publishers for the underlying rights to the songs played on the air, but have been excused from paying royalties to artists or labels. It was a long-held view within the music industry that radio airplay was a critical and necessary marketing expense. "It's just plain wrong for (terrestrial) radio to be allowed to build profitable businesses with growing revenues on the backs of artists and musicians without paying them fairly for it. The bottom line here is that radio plays music to attract listeners and bring in advertising dollars." said Waits, a founding member of the musicFIRST Coalition. (Source: "Legislators propose new royalties for Big Radio" by Sue Zeidler. Reuters newswire. December 18, 2007)
   
2008
Jan. 16 - Feb. 9, '08 The November Theatre brings the The Black Rider (Artsclub Theatre, Granville Island Stage. Vancouver/ Canada). Director: Ron Jenkins. Artistic Producer: Michael Scholar jr. Managing Producer/ Musical Director: Corinne Kessel. Choreographer: Martie Mychka (Source: Artsclub Theatre Company official site. September, 2007)
Jan. 22, '08 Waits played at a benefit for the Bet Tzedek Legal Services - House of Justice at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on January 22. Honoring attorney Kevin Marks with the Luis Lainer Founder’s Award, O’Melveny & Meyers LLP with the Rose L. Schiff Commitment to Justice Award and Anna Burns with the Jack H. Skirball Community Justice Award. 20 minute set, with Larry Taylor on bass. Proceeds benefit the organizations efforts to provide legal counsel for underprivileged citizens. Tom Waits: “Kevin Marks is a longtime friend and ally. He is a champion of artist and human rights. He has pulled my goyim tuchas out of many a fire.” (Source: "Waits To Perform At Legal Benefit". Los Angeles Times. By Geoff Boucher. Dec. 14, 2007). Setlist: On the Nickel, Innocent When You Dream. Come On Up To The House and You Can Never Hold Back Spring.
Jan. 26, '08 Screening of Big Time at the Ken Cinema, San Diego/ USA
Feb. 1, '08 Release of "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone - Kerouac's Big Sur" (Kerouac Films/ Tango Pix and Markedia Worldwide). Documentary film on Jack Kerouac featuring interview with Waits.
Feb. 10, '08 Orphans was nominated for the 50th annual Grammy Awards in the category Best Contemporary Folk/ American Album (Vocal or Instrumental). The award went to Steve Earle for Washington Square Serenade.
Feb. 15, '08 Release of David Smay's “Swordfishtrombones“ (paperback on Waits from the 33 1/3 series published by Continuum).
Mar. 10, '08 The Farm To Feast online auction running from March 10 to March 20, with proceeds going to Santa Rosa's Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm. Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan donated one of Waits' "oil spot photos" as previously printed in Zoetrope's All-Story 2005 Winter issue (November 2, 2005). Photo sold for $1.700,-.
Mar. 14, '08 Waits was in Vancouver/ Canada shooting Terry Gilliam's forthcoming feature "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus". Waits is to star as Mr. Nick, aka the devil: "Rufus’s Guitar Shop had a surprise visitor on March 14 when Tom Waits dropped by for a little browsing. In town to film a movie, the gravel-voiced singer-songwriter bought a guitar for its “rattly” sound, said Deborah Burleson, who was working in the backroom when she came out front to get some guitar strings and spied the iconic musician...Waits was dressed in what Burleson called “business casual’ and his hair was dyed “kind of orange on top” She says she had to say hello. I said, oh my god, I’ve always wanted to meet you. And he shook my hand. He was intimidating, but almost shy, kind of quiet. And very gracious." (Source: Georgia Straight. March 20, 2008. Thanks to Lorne Goldman).
Waits on the set of Terry Gilliam's forthcoming feature "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus". Date: Vancouver/ Canada. March 14, 2008. Published on Oh Johnny!. Credits: photography by "Liz"
Apr. 17, '08 Screening of Big Time by the California Film Institute at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901/ USA (Source: California Film Institute official site, April 7, 2008);
Apr. 26, '08 Premiere of Bill Plympton's animated film "Idiots And Angels" at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City/ USA. The film features music by Tom Waits (Source: Bill Plympton official site, April 2008);
May 5, '08 Launch of the official Tom Waits site. The site features the 2008 tour schedule and the spoof press conference with Waits announcing the USA leg of the "Glitter and Doom" tour. (Source: Stuart Ross, May 1, 2008);
May 7, '08 2008 summer tour announced: "When questioned about the summer inferno choice, Waits responded, "We're going to the deep south where they still love a man who wears red pants and they make him feel welcome." Waits will be touring with longtime musical ally Larry Taylor (bass), Omar Torrez (guitar), Patrick Warren (keyboards), Casey Waits (drums and percussion) and as yet named reed player; performing hollers, mambos and rhumbas... As on his last tour, Waits' U.S. booking agent and longtime tour director, Stuart Ross, has spent a great deal of effort to fight ticket scalpers. Along with Ticketmaster, he has worked out a plan he believes will make sure every fan pays face value (plus normal service and handling fees) for the tickets purchased for the "Glitter and Doom" tour. Tickets for all markets are due to go on sale Friday, May 16th*. Check local venues and Ticketmaster for specific start times. Tickets will be available via the internet and by phone...In keeping with Waits’ longtime desire to allow fans the best possible access to his shows, the Waits’ organization is again implementing an anti-scalping program to assure patrons that their tickets can only be purchased at face value (plus normal surcharges and handling fees). At the majority of shows on this tour, Ticketmaster is introducing their Paperless Ticket™ system. Prior to entering the venue, fans must simply provide their credit card which was used to purchase the tickets, along with a government issued ID. The fan’s accompanying guest must be present at that time. An attendant will swipe the credit card and provide a receipt for the transaction. The entire process is quick, secure and simple. Tickets will only be sold via the internet and by phone and are limited to two per person.” (Source: "Tom Waits On-Sale Information" May 7, 2008, Anti Records press release);
May 21, '08 Europe tour dates announced: San Sebastian, Barcelona, Milan, Prague, Paris, Edinburgh and Dublin: "Following 'Glitter and Doom's 13 U.S. shows that open in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday 17th June, America's legendary songwriter and performer Tom Waits brings his 'Glitter and Doom' tour to Europe this summer, playing shows that include the Grammy-award winning artist's first-ever concerts in Spain and the Czech Republic. The European dates The European schedule opens in Spain's San Sebastian on Saturday 12th July and finishes in Dublin on Saturday 1st August. "I have a stellar band: Larry Taylor (upright bass), Patrick Warren (keyboards), Omar Torrez (guitars), Vincent Henry (woodwinds) and Casey Waits (drums and percussion)", says Waits. "They play with racecar precision and they are all true conjurers. I'm doing songs with them I've never attempted outside the studio. They are all multi-instrumentalists and they polka like real men. We are the Borman Six and as Putney says, "The Borman Six have got to have soul." The European tour will also be subject to new anti-scalper plans, thus attempting to ensure that every fan will pay only face value (plus normal service and handling fees) for the tickets. They will be limited to two per person with the purchaser's name - and name of their plus one - printed on the ticket. Ticket-holders will need photo ID corresponding to the names on the tickets to gain access to the venues." (Source: Stuart Ross, May 21, 2008);
May 29 - Jun. 1, '08 International Tom Waits fan meeting in London/ UK (annual Straydogs party VIII). Hosted by Matt and Helen Rosemier;
Jun. 17 - Jul. 5, '08 Glitter and Doom tour USA: Phoenix, El Paso, Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, St. Louis, Columbus, Knoxville, Jacksonville, Mobile, Birmingham and Atlanta. Paperless ticketing. Further reading: Performances 2006-2010;
Jun. 20, '08 During the show in El Paso Waits was presented with a key to the city of El Paso, TX: "A dozen songs into the show, the lame'-suited Waits moved from his instrument-festooned platform center stage -- where he had stomped, howled, pointed, strutted, posed and kicked up white dust -- to a black mini-grand stage left. El Paso police officer Frank Perez nervously ambled onstage, prompting the soulman shaman to turn comedian, uttering alibis like "I paid all those tickets" and "She was dead when I got there." Officer Perez was really there to announce a special presentation from El Paso City Councilwoman Susie Byrd (whose hubbie is a big Waits fan), who handed the guest of honor a plaque-mounted key to the city. The crowd, which didn't know what to make of it all, erupted. "This is a first for me, a real first," he noted with a straight face. "Apparently this fits every lock in El Paso," Waits added. "If you find me in your living room in my underwear, we have an understanding." (Source: "Tom Waits bares soul, receives key to the city". El Paso Times. Doug Pullen. June 21, 2008)
Plaza Theatre, El Paso/ USA (Glitter and Doom tour). Waits presented with a key to the city of El Paso. Published by El Paso Times. Date: June 20, 2008. Credits: photography by Fernie Castillo
Jul. 1, '08 Waits will be returning as one of the judges for the 2008 International Songwriting Competition (ISC). ISC is a competition which is open to musicians, artists, and songwriters at every level from amateur to professional. ISC will give away over $150,000 in cash and prizes. Entries are due by October 15, 2008. (Further reading: ISC officail site)
Jul. 5-26, '08 8th edition of the annual Waiting For Waits festival in Mallorca/ Spain. With: La Búsqueda, Dawn Landes & Devon Sproule and Richard Hawley (Source: Tomeu Gomila June 24, 2008).
Jul. 29, '08 The show recorded at Atlanta’s Fox Theater July 5 (authorized by Tom Waits), was available for both free streaming and podcast at NPR Music’s “Live in Concert” (Source: Anti Records blog. July 25, 2008)
Jul. 12 - Aug. 1, '08 Glitter and Doom tour Europe: San Sebastian/ Spain, Barcelona/ Spain, Milan/ Italy, Prague/ Czech Republic, Paris/ France, Edinburgh/ Scotland and Dublin/ Ireland. Further reading: Performances 2006-2010
Aug. 30, '08 Tom Waits bus tour "Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' Los Angeles", cohosted by Kim Cooper and David Smay (author of the 33 1/3 book on Swordfishtrombones). Further reading: Esotouric
Aug. 31, '08 Release of "3oclockreep" by Paul Westerberg (self-released online download). The "3oclockreep" track includes about 10 minutes of outtakes from Tom Waits in the studio with the Mats (Replacements), circa 1989. This session produced "Date To Church", which appeared on the CD sampler called "Just Say Mao" in 1989.
Sep. 19, '08 Staging of Woyzeck (non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al.) at the Oberhausen Theatre, Oberhausen/ Germany. Directed by Joan Anton Rechi. (Source: "Eine Ziemliche Sensation", Monika Idems. Der Westen, March 22, 2008).
Oct. 9 - Nov. 16, '08 Staging of The Black Rider (November Theatre production licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al.) at the Tarragon Theatre, Toronto/ Canada. Directed by Ron Jenkins, produced by Corinne Kessel;
Oct. 13-26, '08 Staging of "Mercy And Grant", Tom Waits project by the Opera North Ensemble along with Gavin Bryars. October 13 (Nottingham), October 20 (Lowry Hall, Salford), October 22 (Lyons Concert Hall, York University), October 23 (Sage, Gateshead), October 25 and 26 (Leeds). "The Tom Waits Project brings together American folk, the music of Kurt Weill and ten songs by Tom Waits. Two of Opera North's most versatile singers are joined by an ensemble of six extraordinary musicians." (Source: Gavin Bryars official site, April 2008);
Nov. 25, '08 Advertising campaign launched by the Advertising Council and Feeding America to raise awareness of the issue of hunger in America uses the Waits song Never Let Go as its soundtrack. "On November 25th, the Advertising Council and Feeding America announced the launch of a new national public service advertising campaign designed to raise awareness of the issue of hunger in America and motivate Americans to help combat the problem. Hunger in the U.S. remains invisible to most Americans, yet as the economy worsens, demand at U.S. food banks is increasing at an alarming rate. According to Feeding America, a staggering 1 in 8 Americans, including millions of children, seniors, and the working poor live with hunger every year" (Source: "1 in 8 Ad Council PSA Campaign". Feeding America official site. December 4, 2008). Tom Waits: “We all need to be reminded that the folks who need help getting back on their feet are all members of our family.”
Nov. 26, '08 U.K. music industry veteran Rob Partridge has died at the age of 60. Partridge became head of press at Island in 1977 and joined the board of the record company as media director four years later. One of the artists he worked with at Island, was Tom Waits. Waits is also on the roster of the agency Coalition PR, the follow-up to Partridge & Storey, which Partrigde launched together with Neil Storey in 1990. (Source: "British Music PR Giant Rob Partridge Dies", Billboard.com. November 26, 2008).
Dec. 1, '08 Tom Waits tribute night at Hugh's Room, Toronto/ Canada. With: Lorraine Segato, Gregory Hoskins, Jory Nash and Glenn Milchem (Source: "Tom Waits Tribute Night a Musical Smorgasbord" Freshdaily. December 2, 2008).
Dec. 1, '08 Release of "Windshield Diamonds" by Paul Maher Jr. (Lulu Inc./ USA). Self-published hardcover/ softcover with 70 Waits interviews (limited edition).
Dec. 7, '08 Waits turned 59.
Dec. 7, '09 Third annual Tom Waits Get Behind A Mule tribute at The Basement. Nashville/ USA. Featuring Matthew Ryan, Korean Is Asian, Joshua Black Wilkins, Wess Floyd and the Daisycutters, Ballhog, Travis Stephen, Afton Wolfe and more (Source: "Tom Waits Tribute Night at The Basement", The Spin, December 8, 2008);
Dec. 12, '08 Screening of Big Time at Molens van Orshoven, Leuven/ Belgium. Profits going to Mobile School. Afterwards six musicians performed a creation they came up with after watching Big Time.
Dec. 30, '08 Release of "The Words and Music of Tom Waits" (Praeger Publishers: ISBN-10: 0313349061, ISBN-13: 978-0313349065) by Corinne Kessel. Biography/ analysis on Waits by the managing producer for November Theatre (The Black Rider);
   
2009
Jan. 6-13, '09 "Tom Waits' Freischütz-Reprise", staging of The Black Rider at Prinzregententheater, Munich/ Germany. Non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al., directed by Jochen Schölch.
Jan. 13, '09 Waits was awarded Paste Magazine's "Best Live Act in 2008" award.
Jan. 19, '09 Waits attended "In Concert on The Eve of Change" at the Warner Theatre on in Washington, DC/ USA..
Feb. '09 Waits plays Mr. Nick, aka the devil in Terry Gilliam's forthcoming feature "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus". Shooting started February 2008. (Source: "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus - A preview from Dreams: the Terry Gilliam fanzine by Phil Stubbs. October 10, 2007).
Feb. '09 Waits is said to be involved in the filming of The Book of Eli, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes (release planned for Jan. 2010). ANTI confirmation: "...Currently, Tom Waits is in the midst of filming The Book of Eli, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes ...Eli is a post-apocalyptic Western, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving mankind. The film stars Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman with Tom Waits in a small role as 'Engineer" (Source: Tom Waits Goes Gold With 'Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards', March 11, 2009. Anti.com).
Feb. 16, '09 Release of The Spirit of Apollo (Anti) by NASA (Squeak E. Clean/ Sam Spiegel and DJ Zegon/ Ze Gonzales) with Waits as special guest on the track "Spacious Thoughts".
Feb. 28, '09 Release of Tom Waits: Musik & Mythos (German translation of Jay S. Jacobs biography Wild Years: The Music and Myth of Tom Waits) by Stagecraft Entertainment.
Mar. 5, '09 UK Release of the Waits biography Lowside Of The Road: A Life Of Tom Waits (640 p. hardcover by Faber/ Broadway) by British music critic and editor of Rock's Backpages Barney Hoskyns (Source: Barney Hoskyns. October, 2007). US release on May 19th.
Mar. 11, '09 ANTI announced they are planning to have Orphans released on vinyl "...in the not-too-distant future". Also "...Waits and his long time collaborator and wife, Kathleen Brennan, have begun writing new songs, which they plan to record this summer for an upcoming CD. No release date at this time" (Source: Tom Waits Goes Gold With 'Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards', March 11, 2009. Anti.com). Release date Dec. 8, 2009
Apr. 5, '09: Premiere of the Waits/ Wilson production of The Black Rider at Theater Landshut, Landshut/ Germany. Directed by Petra Dannenhöfer. Play ran until June 6, '09.
Apr. 18, '09 ANTI released a 7" single through Rough Records containing tracks from the 2008 Glitter and Doom tour: Lucinda/ Ain't Goin' Down To The Well (recorded live in Atlanta/ USA) and Bottom Of The World (recorded live in Edinburgh/ Scotland) (Source: "Exclusive product confirmed". Feb. 22, '09. Rough Trade Records).
Apr. 23, '09 Premiere of the Waits/ Wilson production of The Black Rider at the Centraltheater, Leipzig/ Germany. Directed by Jorinde Dröse. Play ran until June 17, '09.
Apr. 30, '09 Tom Waits tribute night at The Fire, Philadelphia/ USA.
May 13, '09 Waits donated one of his photos from his “Oil Stain” series to a charity auction to benefit the tuition assistance program at Summerfield School (Farm To Feast). The photo was featured in the Winter 2005 issue of Francis Ford Coppola's literary magazine, Zoetrope All-Story. The online auction closed June 5, photo sold for $2,601.00 (Source: Farm to Feast online auction).
May 21, '09 Release of "The Little Black Songbook: Tom Waits" (Wise Publications part of the Music Sales Group AM996765). Pocket-sized collection of songs in chord songbook format, with complete lyrics and guitar chords, edited by Adrian Hopkins.
May 22, '09 Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (starring Waits) premiered at the Cannes film festival (France). The movie was showing out of competition and did not compete for the festival prizes. U.K./ Italy release date: October 16, 2009. 
Terry Gilliam (2009): "Through all of this, I’ve yet to mention the brilliant Tom Waits as Mr. Nick. He is Satan in a bowler hat and a John Waters moustache. He plays Satan as a character that loves the game he plays with Parnassus. Tricking him into immortality, so that Satan has eternity to play with the dear Doctor. Tom Waits is brilliant in the role – reminding me of the best Satans we’ve ever had" (Source: "Harry has entered Gilliam's The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus & never wants to leave!". April 30, 2009. Ain't It Cool). 
Terry Gilliam (2009): "A Dutch animator was trying to get in touch with Tom and asked me if I’d send Tom a script of his, which I did. It was the first contact I’d had with Tom in several years,” tells Gilliam of how the seasoned musician/sometimes actor first blipped on his radar for the role of the wicked Mr. Nick. “He turned down my friend, but asked ‘have you got anything going for me?’ And I said ‘well, there is this interesting part in my new film…’ and that was it.” Just like that? “I said I’d got a part and he said ‘I’m in’. Before he’d read the script.” Just like that, then." (Source: "Tom Waits: The Devil And Dr. Parnassus" by Gerard Elson. The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus Support Site. June 27, 2009). 
Odessa Munroe, dance choreographer (2009): "The space they were given to rehearse in was being painted and was releasing noxious fumes - neither Waits, nor the newly pregnant Munroe could stand it, so they repaired to Waits's trailer. "There we are, trying to figure out the tango in a tiny trailer," she says with a laugh. "At one point I swung around and kicked the table - hard - and was bleeding all over Tom's carpet." Still, Waits was a dream pupil: "He really attacked it," says Munroe. "He took it very seriously and was so excited because he would finally be able to tango with his wife." (Source: "Teaching tango to the stars" by Fiona Morrow. Globe And mail September 12, 2009)
Jun. 11, '09 Waiting For Waits festival, Mallorca/ Spain. With: Jolie Holland (June 11) and Hot Club of Cowtown (August 8).
Jun. 22, '09 "Record company executive Herbert Cohen claims music journalist Barney Hoskyns and Random House defamed him by accusing him of embezzling royalties from Tom Waits in the biography, "Low Side of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits." Cohen, who says he discovered Waits when the singer was 21, claims he also has managed Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, Alice Cooper, Linda Ronstadt and others. Cohen claims the book depicts Waits describing litigation against him involving stolen royalties; Cohen claims it never happened. Hoskyns allegedly quoted Waits as saying, "I thought I was a millionaire and it turned out I had, like, twenty bucks." Cohen denies ever litigating copyright issues with Waits, though he acknowledges he settled a lawsuit with the singer-songwriter in 1983. Media reports indicated that Waits filed that lawsuit because Cohen's company, Third Story Music licensed, two of Waits' songs for commercials without the singer's permission. Cohen also complains that Hoskyns' book claims folk rock musician Jerry Yester said that Waits' wife, Kathleen Brennan, told him that Cohen had stolen money from Waits. Cohen cites this alleged passage from the book: "'Kathleen told me Herbie had nicked a lot of money from Tom,' says Jerry Yester ... 'She was very smart and just had a lot of really good input.' To the likes of Yester, the news hardly came as a surprise ... 'What was so distressing was that Herbie had always been part of the family,' Yester says. 'It was like your father or your brother doing it to you ... Waits absolutely trusted Herbie to his core, and it devastated him when he found out that he had grabbed a lot of the royalties.'" (Ellipses are in the complaint.) Cohen also claims that the states that "cynicism was what enabled (Cohen) to help himself to money that technically belonged to the artists he represented." Cohen demands $1 million from Hoskyns and Random House. He is represented in Federal Court by S. Martin Keleti" (Source: "Record Exec Says Tom Waits Bio Defamatory", Katrina Brown. June 22, 2009. Courthouse News Service).
Jul. 8/ 17, '09 Irrelevant Topics, conversation between Waits and Beck online at Beck official site.
Jul. 11, '09 Red's Recovery Room as mentioned in Filipino Box Spring Hog closed July 25, 2009. "Red's hosts a closing bash on Saturday, July 11, from 2pm to 2am. 8175 Gravenstein Hwy., Cotati" (Source: "Goodbye To Red's" by Michael Shapiro, MetroActive. July 8, 2009). "...Current proprietors Maria Romani and Linda Skomro have learned they must shut down Red's. The investors who own the three acres there at Highway 116 and Adler Avenue have plans that don't include what's been praised as Sonoma County's best dive bar... Romani and Skomro are looking for a location that might work as a new home for Red's" (Source: "We'll See If Red's Recovers From This" by Chris Smith. The Press Democrat. July 14, 2009)
Aug. 7, '09 International Stray Dogs party IX in Turku/ Finland, hosted by Outi Sillanpää. Annual Tom Waits fans meetup initiated by the Tom Waits Yahoo group. Pre-party and opening ceremony on Aug. 6th.
Aug. 7, '09 "For the fifth year in a row, Tom Waits signs on as a judge in the International Songwriting Competition (ISC), one of the largest and most respected songwriting competitions in the world. tSC gives away over $150, 000 in cash and prizes each year" (Source: ICS pressrelease. August 7, 2009)
Aug. 9, '09 Tom Waits tribute night at Beat Kitchen (2100 W. Blemont Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60613), Chicago/ USA.
Aug. 21, '09 Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan are among the judges who will help determine the winners of the 9th annual Independent Music Awards. The deadline for submissions is August 21, 2009; winners and nominees will be promoted throughout 2010 (Source: "Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan, Pete Wentz & Ricky Skaggs Join Aimee Mann, She & Him, The Black Keys And Others On The Independent Music Awards Judging Panel". IMA press release Jul. 9, '09)
Sep. 1-3, '09 Under the title Heart of Saturday Night, BBC Radio 4 will be airing stories by Ian Rankin, Al Kennedy and Willy Vlautin inspired by the music of Tom Waits. Producer: Justine Willett (Source: "The Heart Of Saturday Night Ep 1/3" BBC Radio 4 Publicity)
Sep. 12, '09 Premiere of Woyzeck at the Stadt Theater, Bern/ Switserland. Non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al. In German with English songtexts. Show will run untill Jun. 4, 2010.
Sep. 15, '09 Scheduled USA release of "The Document" by Chrome Dreams. Featuring: one disc of interviews and one DVD disc of a documentary with "rare footage", video interviews and contributions from associates. UK release scheduled for Sep. 28th (Source: "Tom Waits: The Document". British Video Association. August 6, 2009)
Sep. 18, '09 Premiere of Woyzeck at the Luzerner Theater, Lucerne/ Switserland. Non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al. In German with English songtexts. Show will run untill Jan. 3, 2010.
Sep. 18, '09 Waits attended the Canadian premiere of Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" held at Roy Thomson Hall during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto/ Canada.
Sep. 30, '09 Waits is among the 2009 festival jury for the Raindance Film Festival. The festival takes place from Sep. 30 - Oct. 11 at the Apollo Cinema, London/ UK (Source: Raindance Film Festival official site, September 1, 2009)
Oct. 6, '09 Waits attended the UK premiere of Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" held at The Empire Leicester Square in London/ UK.
Oct. 8, '09 Premiere of the Black Rider at the Tarragon Theatre, Toronto/ Canada: "The cast from the spring 2008 production in Vancouver's PuSh Festival are assembled again for the Toronto run: Kevin Corey, Mackenzie Gray, Rachael Johnston, Michael Scholar Jr. and Colleen Winton, joined by Ashley Wright. The musical director is Corinne Kessel, who also plays in the "Devil's Rubato Band" with musicians Duane Elias and Bryce Kulak" (Source: "Black Rider, Award-Winning Musical Play by Burroughs, Waits and Wilson, to Make Toronto Premiere" by Kenneth Jones. Sep. 23, '08)
Oct. 8, '09 Premiere of Woyzeck at the Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe/ Germany. Non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al. Directed by Jens-Daniel Herzog. In German with English songtexts. Show will run untill Oct. 30, 2009.
Oct. 16, '09 UK/ Italy release of Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (starring Waits as "Mr. Nick"). The movie premiered May 22, 2009 at the Cannes film festival (France)
Oct. 24, '09 Waits is currently down in New Orleans recording a benefit track with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. It’s been a two year project by the band intended to raise money for the historic French Quarter Hall and keep the music tradition alive (Source: Tom Waits official site, 2009)
Nov. 4, '09 Introduction of the official Tom Waits Twitter (Source: Tom Waits official site, 2009)
Nov. 14, '09 International Dutch Dogs party at café Borra, Amersfoort/ Netherlands. Tom Waits fans meetup initiated by the Dutch Dogs Yahoo group.
Nov. 23, '09 Release of the live album Glitter And Doom (Anti, 2009)
Front cover of the live compilation album Glitter And Doom. Photography by Michael O'Brien, 2008.
Dec. 7, '09 Waits turned 60.
Dec. 7, '09 10-year anniversary of the Tom Waits Library. The site (then called Tom Waits Supplement) was launched December 7, 1999.
Dec. 8, '09 Release of the Orphans vinyl box set (7 LP limited edition) (Source: Tom Waits official site, 2009)
Dec. 15, '09 ANTI announced they are planning to have Orphans released on vinyl (Source: "Tom Waits Goes Gold With 'Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards"', March 11, 2009. Anti.com press release). The limited edition Orphans vinyl box set is slated for a mid-December release. At $149.98. It includes 7 LPs on 180-gram vinyl incl. 6 bonus tracks, deluxe 12" lyric booklet and a deluxe pull-out case. Bonus tracks are: "Crazy 'Bout My Baby" (2:04), "Diamond In Your Mind" (5:08), "Cannon Song" (2:59), "Pray" (2:59), "No One Can Forgive Me" (4:56) and "Mathie Grove" (6:31) (Source: Alternative Distribution Alliance LP one sheet September 9, 2009 as posted by Mitch Kirsner on RainDogs Listserv)
Dec. 30, '09 Scheduled release of the photobook "Waits - Corbijn" by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn (Schirmer-Mosel/ Germany, 2009). 160 pages, 75 colour and duotone plates, 21 x 28 cm, hardcover. English/German edition: "Tom Waits and Anton Corbijn are a perfect musician and photographer match. Their 30-year collaboration now yields this book of portraits interspersed by lyrics from major Waits albums". Release date postponed.
   
2010
Jan. '10 Premiere of Woyzeck at the Thalia theatre, Hamburg/ Germany. Non-Wilson production, licensed by Robert Wilson, et. al. Directed by Jette Steckel. In German with English songtexts.
Jan. 15, '10 Scheduled release of The Book of Eli, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes. The film stars Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman with Tom Waits in a small role as “Engineer.” This will mark Waits’ second teaming with Oldman as Waits’ played Renfeld to Oldman’s Count Dracula in the Francis Ford Coppola version of the classic vampire film" (Source: "Tom Waits Goes Gold With 'Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards"', March 11, 2009. Anti.com press release)
Jan. 29, '10 Waits and Robert Wilson are said to be teaming up again for yet another theatre play/ musical. Martin McDonagh is said to direct the play. The musical would be slated to premiere in Paris next year (Source: "In Bruges Director teams with Tom Waits and Robert Wilson", TalkingFilms. net, Jan. 29 2010). Further reading: Theatre.
Jan. 30, '10 Waits will appear on a CD with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band titled "Preservation (An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program)". The album is released in two versions. The ordinary run (with Waits starring on the track Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing) and a "deluxe version" including another extra track featuring Waits (Corinne Died On The Battlefield) (Source: Preservation Hall Jazz Band site 2010)
Mar. 2, '10 Waits' former manager Herb Cohen died at the age of 77 (Source: "Herb Cohen dies at 77. Label operator introduced Mothers of Invention, Tom Waits", by Christopher Morris. Variety.com, March 16, 2010). Further reading: Copyright.
Apr. 3, '10 Esotouric organises another bus ride through Los Angeles to illustrate "Tom Waits' formative creative life and the people, places and late night pastries that shaped it". The tour is is cohosted by Kim Cooper and David Smay (author of the 33 1/3 book on Swordfishtrombones) (Source: Esotouric.com, 2010)
Jun. 9, '10 Chicago-based Big Time performed Tom Waits' Frank's Wild Years in its entirety at Martyrs, Chicago/ USA.
Jul. 2010 Waits was guest editor for the July issue of Mojo magazine, which celebrated it's 200th birthday.
Front cover of MOJO magazine, July 2010.
Sep. 25, '10 Premiere of Richard III by Dutch Orkater company, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam/ Netherlands. Scheduled from September 22nd through October 12th (except Sep. 27th and Oct. 4 and 10). Directed by Matthijs Rümke. Songs performed in the play included: Misery Is The River Of The World, God’s Away On Business, I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’ll Shoot The Moon, Underground and The Part You Throw Away.
Oct. 2, '10 Tom Waits joined the lineup of artists and authors paying tribute to Lawrence Ferlinghetti and his publishing house and bookstore, City Lights at the Litquake’s 2010 Barbary Coast Award ceremony. Herbst Theater (San Francisco/ USA). Performed Ferlinghetti's Fortune/ Coney Island of the Mind with the Marcus Shelby Quartet.
San Francisco/ USA October 2, 2010. W. Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, and Steve Earle. Credits: photography by Cynthia Wood
Nov. 19, '10 Limited vinyl release of Preservation: An album to benefit Preservation Hall and the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program, featuring Waits on two tracks: “Tootie Ma Was A Big Fine Thing” , and “Corrine Died On The Battlefield”. Proceeds will benefit the Preservation Hall Junior Jazz & Heritage Brass Band. Recorded by Waits in New Orleans/ USA 2009. Previously released on CD February 16, 2010.
Dec. 7, '10 Waits turned 61.
Dec. 14, '10 Waits is one of the 2011 inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. The ceremony in New York City will take place on March 14, 2011. Tom Waits: "...I am still recovering. I never really cared about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... but now I am surprised to discover how much I DO care. I'm wondering if I did something wrong?... I wish she (his mother who died January 2010) was alive to hear the news. She didn't respond to rock and roll per se, but she would have loved to have a reason to get all dolled up...and... the idea of having a Waldorf salad AT the Waldorf Astoria, would for her have been the cat's pajamas. Actually, my mom made a pretty mean Waldorf herself!" (Source: The New Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, Andy Greene. RollingStone.com December 14, 2010)
 

*** No longer updated. Please refer to the official Tom Waits site and the Eyeball Kid blogspot ***

 

Further reading
Performances 2006-2010
Pictures 2006-2010
Interviews