all right, who is grabbing these webcasts and taping the Seattle Attic Jam???

Townshend Mulling Solo Set, Hopes To Jam With Vedder

Pete Townshend gets his fill of big, loud arena rock each night while on tour with the Who, but before the shows, he indulges his quieter side during the In the Attic webcasts, hosted by his girlfriend, singer/songwriter Rachel Fuller. So far, the series has boasted guest appearances by the Raconteurs, the Flaming Lips and Martha Wainwright, and is likely to get a visit this week from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

"He's on the phone a lot at the moment," Townshend tells Billboard.com of longtime friend Vedder. "In Seattle, we're hoping to do an In the Attic featurette with him. He's very keen to be on."

Townshend has utilized In the Attic to perform stripped down versions of material from the upcoming Who album, "Endless Wire," as well as vintage favorites such as "Blue, Red & Gray" and "Let's See Action." He has also participated in what Fuller has dubbed Attic Jams at smaller venues after Who shows.

"We did one at [New York's] Joe's Pub with Martha Wainwright and we did one at [Chicago's] House of Blues with Rose Hill Drive and Willy Mason. Willy Mason is knockout. Wow. So young and so wise behind his years. He's an incredible writer. So, we're doing a bunch of those shows on the next leg. That, at the moment, is satisfying my desire to pick up an acoustic guitar and play."

Townshend concedes he is considering rounding up material that didn't make the cut for "Endless Wire" for his first solo album since 1993's "Psychoderelict."

"A lot of the songs either I excluded from presenting to [Who vocalist] Roger [Daltrey] or that Roger passed on once he'd heard them, they don't actually make a particularly powerful record, but wow, they would make an extremely interesting record," he says. "So I might actually look at the possibility of putting out a solo record. But again, the only reason I would do that is if I felt I could support it."

Very cool. I would love to see that.

hopefully eddie makes this work. I wonder if PT is jealous of Johnny Ramone surpassing him in Eddie's life?

wow, i thought there would be more interest in this story.

i went to the Who's site to see when the seattle show is (10/11) and they have full videos of the Attic performances on there. i'll have to check out The Raconteurs/Flaming Lips one tonight. cant wait to see Ed on there!

http://www.intheattic.tv/watch/

if you were pete townshend would you be jealous of johnny ramone for anything?

it's a slow day today

I would be if I admired mediocrity

or having hair

hmmm...the Flaming Lips playing acoustic Baba O'Riley. I'm waiting for the back of the trailer to explode and have PJ magically appear, rocking the fuck out!

I think Pete is kind of an idiot. I mean, The Who are one of my favs and he has written some of the best songs ever, but he has written FAR MORE crappy, embarassing songs. then the whole thing about berating Roger on stage and always acting pissed about whatever and stuff. he is such an arrogant asshole. after entwistle died they should have hung it up. hell, after Moon died they should have hung it up. typical baby boomer classic rock band, thinking they are forever 25. for more on this phenomenon, see Ken Wilber's excelllent book "Boomeritis".

Essentially, he talks about how many of them sitting in the peace rallies were there for as many narrsisistic reasons as altruisitc ones.....i.e. "you can' tell me what to do man", and that the baby boomer mentality, although most of the time seen as advanced and concious, is really rooted in a selfishness that has never been seen. They became the "me" generation in the 80s, for example.

i'm not a big fan either, and I think a lot of PJ fans act like they love The Who because of Ed. i think some of teh songs are good to great, but neither Pete nor Roger are great singers, IMO. I was glad I got to see PJ open for Petty rather than The Who.

i'm only listening to the session because of The Raconteurs and I do like to hear Ed in any form, so I thought this story was worth posting.

Saying Roger Daltry can't sing is just idiotic.

I didnt say he can't sing, I said he's not a great singer, IMO.

see the difference?

I disagree with you quite a bit. What is your definition of a great singer?

I'm not a big fan of the who or neil young (although both have some songs I like) and I hate the Ramones. Eddie would be mad at me

someone who sounds good to me. someone who makes me want to go back and listen to more. someone who I can appreciate on many levels.

it's art my friend. it's not defined.

agreed. i think ed has some of the worst taste in music. but i guess not realizing how great they are themselves is part of what makes them so great.

I was just wondering. I guess I haven't heard of many people who dislike Daltry's vocals.

The Who: meh
Ramones: meh
Neil Young: <3

Actually, there are quite a few qualities you can weigh in deciding if someone is a good rock singer. Daltrey has power, control, inflection, resonance, clarity and good phrasing. For people who don't "like" Townshend, I submit that his public stance might very well be intentionally annoying. I hate to shatter illusions but most rock stars are pretty conscios and calculating about their image.