Search Results for: Will Ferri

Computer audio equipment maker Creative Technology Ltd and online music service Soundbuzz.Com launched an alliance on Tuesday aimed at capturing Asia’s infant fee-based online music market. The two companies are setting up online music stores in Singapore, Hong Kong and India – regions where knock-off CDs burned by sophisticated piracy syndicates or downloaded off the Internet for free are hammering sales of recorded music. Soundbuzz.Com and Creative launched the first of their online stores in Singapore on Tuesday, offering 250,000 songs at $1.16 each in a format designed for quick downloading into Creative’s digital music players. “We’ve all been through… Read more »

With a new album dropping in June and a summer concert schedule in place, all seemed normal enough in the Phish camp as this week began. But the group shocked fans Tuesday with the announcement that it will break up following a two-day festival in Coventry, Vermont, on August 14-15. Frontman/guitarist Trey Anastasio wrote on the band’s Web site, “We all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health. We don’t want to become caricatures of ourselves or, worse yet, a… Read more »

Sometimes, Washington is as hot as Bangkok. OK, I stole that line, but it was baking hot at RFK Stadium Saturday for the HFStival, the annual, all-day, relentlessly eclectic rock extravaganza put on by local radio station WHFS-FM (99.1). An estimated crowd of 60,000 blazed under a pre-summer sun, moseying in and out of the stadium from parking-lot attractions that included a forest of beer trucks, giant inflatable corporate logos, two more bandstands – one for national acts, the other for local acts such as Washington Social Club and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack – and, for the truly adventurous, a Ferris… Read more »

For their latest album, veteran Boston rockers Aerosmith decided it was time to return to their blues roots. Thus, Honkin’ On Bobo – possibly the most memorable title of 2004 – was born. The 12-song disc, released March 30, saw Aerosmith tackling old blues/roots covers such as Muddy Waters’ I’m Ready and Mississippi Fred McDowell’s You Gotta Move plus one Aerosmith original, The Grind. Drummer Joey Kramer, down the line from San Antonio, Tex., prior to the band’s Thursday night stop at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, said the concept has been in the works for a long time. “The new… Read more »

Linkin Park have the kind of problem bands like to have. The ambitious video for Meteora’s scheduled next single is taking longer to finish than expected, and while the band has been waiting patiently, radio programmers and fans have not. Instead, a different song, “Lying From You,” is blowing up and Linkin Park have no video prepared. “I’m not sure if we’re going to do an actual video for it because there’s only so much sh- you can do with one record,” singer Chester Bennington said. “It’s like we can’t make a video for every song on the record, so… Read more »

Just as sound bites get reworked into tunes that multiply over the Internet – Remember all the songs based on Howard Dean’s yelp? – a widely seen TV ad is getting the hack-and-slash treatment. The target is Pepsi’s current promotion giving away 100 million free song downloads from Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The company promises one in three bottlecaps on certain Pepsi products carries a code for a free iTunes download. Pepsi is airing a 45-second spot featuring 16 crestfallen music downloaders who have been sued by – and settled lawsuits with – the record industry for illegally snagging songs… Read more »

At a time when ProTools and Technics seem to be all the rage, P.O.D. are adopting a back-to-basics approach to their music. Ironically, they’re currently touring with Linkin Park, a band whose infamous use of digital editing tends to ruffle the panties of traditional musicians everywhere. According to P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval, however, it’s not such a big deal. “They’re good at what they do,” he says of his tourmates. “They have the old synthesizer and Depeche Mode type of vibe, and Chester and Mike and all the guys are great at what they do. But for me personally, I… Read more »

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know – we all want to change the world. Except for Chris Colus. He’s the drummer for a reggae-roots-rock band, freshly signed to a major record label, and he’s trying to explain that band’s name, which is O.A.R. – Of A Revolution. “There’s no political motive,” the 25-year-old Rockville, MD native insists. “This is the music we’ve wanted to play, the music we wanted to hear – that’s a revolution for ourselves and our fans.” The “Of A Revolution” name actually comes from “The Wanderer,” a short story singer-guitarist Marc Roberge wrote… Read more »

Their last recording had a budget of about $300. Still, Toronto duo Death From Above managed to use that small sum to create an aural masterpiece that led to worldwide attention and a tour across the Great White North with Billy Talent andAlexisonfire. It was probably the best three bills the band ever spent. And now they’ve got a solid grand – $1,000 – burning a hole in their pockets. You can just imagine how giddy bassistJesse F. Keeler and drummer/singer Sebastien Grainger must be as they gear up to record an 11-song full-length. “Considering what we spent with the… Read more »

Janet Jackson knows sexy – from her topless Rolling Stone cover to videos like the Herb Ritts-directed “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” – but producer Dallas Austin promises her new album is “easily the most sexy thing she’s done.” “Guys won’t know what to do with themselves after this,” he said, laughing at the prospect. “It’s one of the best records she’s made.” Austin said he’s produced five songs with Janet already, having worked with her over the last few months at his DARP Studios in Atlanta. Janet’s still-untitled album is due March 30, according to a spokesperson for… Read more »