Search Results for: Will Ferri

Some of the world’s biggest names in music were all about Saving Our Selves this weekend. SOS, of course, referring to the campaign being touted Saturday across the globe at the seven-continent, 24-hour Live Earth concert extravaganza, a worldwide shout-out to individuals, political leaders, corporations and every other entity capable of helping put a stop to the environmental scourge that is global warming. In a partnership with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and other U.S.-based and international organizations, Live 8 executive producer Kevin Wall put together a bill that included the Police, Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica,… Read more »

“Hands Held High,” one of the most powerful songs on Linkin Park’s new album, includes lyrics about bombs blowing up mosques, a bumbling leader, high gas prices and general world confusion – an obvious missive against President Bush and the war in Iraq. Or maybe not. Tell that interpretation to Mike Shinoda, the rapper/musician who writes most of the lyrics for the blockbuster band, and you’ll get an earful on making assumptions about the group’s most adventurous album to date, “Minutes to Midnight.” “We’re not a political band. And I see some of the stuff that you’re referring to …… Read more »

Imagine a “dream machine” on wheels. It’s easy if you try. But the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is no dream. A state-of-the-art multimedia studio packed in a bus, it’s a vehicle for opening the minds of aspiring young musicians. “Swing open the door, step inside, take three short steps into the main cabin and look around,” writes Mark Garvey in “Come Together: The Official John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Guide to Music and Video,” a recently published history of the bus by Garvey and Yoko Ono Lennon. “You’ve entered a different world. And whether you’re young or old, if… Read more »

Is it legal to make a copy of that DVD you’ve just bought so the family can watch it around the home or in the car? In one of the most watched copyright cases in recent years, a judge in northern California ruled last month that copying DVDs for personal use was legal, given the terms of the industry’s licence and the way the copies were made. The wider implication of the ruling remains clouded–not least because the DVD Copy Control Association, the loser in the case, has 60 days to appeal. But whatever the video industry may like to… Read more »

Now that the three young women in Candy Hill, a glossy rap and R&B trio, have signed a record contract, they are hoping for stardom. On the schedule: shooting a music video and visiting radio stations to talk up their music. But the women do not have a CD to promote. Universal/Republic Records, their label, signed Candy Hill to record two songs, not a complete album. “If we get two songs out, we get a shot,” said Vatana Shaw, 20, who formed the trio four years ago, “Only true fans are buying full albums. Most people don’t really do that… Read more »

At some point, Cobra Starship mastermind Gabe Saporta is really gonna have to decide if having a keytar player in his band is worth it. Sure, the keytar is totally awesome – name another instrument good enough for Donald Fagen, Prince and “Weird” Al Yankovic – but in getting to the bottom of the Starship’s split with ‘tar player Elisa Schwartz (a less-than-harmonious parting of ways involving stolen iPods, clandestine spa sessions and late-night Britney Spears-fueled dance parties) you start to wonder if perhaps Saporta would be better off having never hired a keytar player in the first place. “The… Read more »

NEW YORK – Jamie Foxx is clearly a jack of all trades. His dramatic-acting skills earned him an Oscar and his comedy brings audiences to tears. And as for his singing, Foxx’s multiple Grammy nominations and multiplatinum plaque say it all. The actor/singer/comedian brought all his ammunition to Madison Square Garden on Monday night, breaking his Unpredictable show into two sets: One consisting of straight comedy and the other featuring singing, dancing and a brief resurrection of Ray Charles. A few days prior to the concert, Foxx checked in with MTV News via telephone from Paris, where we was attending… Read more »

Much has already been written about the Shins’ new album, Wincing the Night Away (which comes out Tuesday), including the fact that the majority of the songs were inspired by singer/songwriter James Mercer’s bouts of “crippling insomnia.” Whether or not that’s entirely true is debatable , but what’s more interesting is the fact that, for the first time in almost 15 years of playing together, the Shins have become a band about which much is written. And more pertinently, very little of it is about their career-making shout-out in Zach Braff’s 2004 flick, “Garden State,” or one of their songs… Read more »

The original handwritten lyrics to Beatles classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” will go on sale in the United States on Monday and are expected to fetch up to 400,000 pounds ($780,000). The manuscript, penned by George Harrison, includes lines not included in the final version of the song, which was first recorded in 1968. The bottom of the page also features the words: “The band leader said he ain’t playin’ no more,” which auctioneer Cooper Auctions said was a reference to the tense atmosphere in the Beatles’ studio at the time. Cooper managing director John Collins said the phrase… Read more »

As 2006 comes to an end, Angels & Airwaves are looking back with a strong sense of pride. (We know, big surprise!) “I think we’ve all made the record of our lives,” singer and resident hype machine Tom DeLonge said, referring to We Don’t Need to Whisper . “It’s been a super-spiritual year for our band and for us personally, and I think we’ve offered something extremely imaginative and futuristic to rock and roll. I also think that I’ve become a good dancer along the way.” “Yeah, and you’ve also perfected the art of making the di– jokes seem really… Read more »