Search Results for: alternative press

Starbucks Entertainment announced today that it will release a CD of 15 original tracks by Starbucks partners (employees). The first-of-its-kind compilation is the result of a company-wide contest that invited Starbucks partners to submit original solo or band recordings. “Off the Clock Vol. 1: New Music from Up & Coming Starbucks Artists” will be available exclusively at Starbucks Company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada beginning April 3, 2007. This newest venture continues Starbucks unwavering support of new talent — in this case, from within its own family of partners.”Off the Clock Vol. 1: New Music from Up & Coming… Read more »

Sure, they say it every year: This summer’s Ozzfest will be like none that came before. But this time, it’s true: Admission will be free. Yes, free. At a press conference held in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon (February 6), festival co-founder Sharon Osbourne announced that, in response to the ever-escalating costs of concert tickets, admission to this year’s Ozzfest – which will be headlined by Ozzy Osbourne – won’t cost fans a dime. “For the last few years, ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours,” she said in a statement. “We certainly… Read more »

It’s New Year’s Eve in New York and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is headlining the buzziest indie rock bill in town. The eclectic quintet — which has risen to notoriety for selling more than 110,000 copies of its 2005 debut album in the United States without the help of a record label — has plenty to celebrate. The band is using the show at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom to preview a half-dozen tracks from its self-released sophomore set, “Some Loud Thunder,” due January 30. CYHSY’s most rabid fans don’t need much of an introduction to some of the new material.… Read more »

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Grammy-winning singer and guitarist Jack White of the rock duo White Stripes married British model Karen Elson this week in a canoe in the Brazilian Amazon, according to a message on the band’s Web site. The marriage, conducted by a shaman priest, took place on Wednesday at the confluence of the Amazon, Negro and Solimoes rivers with a group of close friends attending, the site reported. The band’s drummer, Meg White, was maid of honor, and manager Ian Montone was best man. The couple were later blessed by a Catholic priest in a church in the… Read more »

Modern-rock promotion finds itself at a crossroads as a growing number of terrestrial radio broadcasters tune out the ratings-challenged format. Record companies are attempting to adapt to modern rock’s recent marginalization on the airwaves in major markets like Philadelphia, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. by emphasizing other options for building buzz. In lieu of airplay, touring, blogs, ringtones, downloads, Internet and satellite radio, videogame tie-ins, alliances with brand marketers, film and TV exposure, sponsorships and placements in commercials all are growing in value. The marketing strategies for a number of big-name rock artists with current or upcoming releases show… Read more »

New York – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants Jennifer Lopez to “Get Right” when it comes to fur. Lopez introduced her Sweetface collection during New York Fashion Week last month. “Please don’t support Jennifer Lopez or her bloody business,” according to a Web site that the animal rights group has devoted to the singer, actress and now fashion designer. “Many hot designers, including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Todd Oldham, Marc Bouwer, and others have… created synthetic alternatives that are hip, humane, and easily available and don’t turn animals into fashion victims.” Calls by The Associated Press to… Read more »

New York, Ny – U.K. ragga-metal hybrid Skindred, who are currently on a packed-house tour with Papa Roach, will hit the road with Sevendust following. The U.K. lads will continue to support their Lava Records debut album Babylon, which has captured the #1 spot on the Reggae chart for 10 weeks, selling over 100,000 copies to date. The South Wales, four-piece band, fronted by former Dub War vocalist Benji Webbe, unleashed their experimental reggae/rock hybrid on America August 31, 2004. Not only has the album seared a lasting impression on the Reggae chart, it has hovered in the Top 10… Read more »

Los Angeles – Epitaph Records built its foundation on punk rock. But just before last year’s presidential election, the label’s most biting political commentary arrived courtesy of Sage Francis, a 27-year-old rapper from Providence, R.I. The song “Slow Down Gandhi” sarcastically rips into liberals and conservatives alike, casting a cynical eye at warmongers and the “cool kids” who “were rocking votes.” With a perfectly articulated delivery that recalls Chuck D, Francis builds each verse with a mixture of activism, paranoia and humor. “If they could sell sanity in a bottle, they would be charging for compressed air,” he quips. Epitaph… Read more »

New York – Rock singer Kristin Hersh had something else entirely in mind when she named her new band 50 Foot Wave. Sometimes there’s just not much you can do about bad timing. “It’s either on my part or God’s, I’m not so sure,” Hersh, a heroine of the alternative rock scene with her longtime band Throwing Muses, told The Associated Press in an interview. The band’s first full CD, which is being released in March, was mailed to rock critics about a week before Asia’s devastating tsunami, which killed more than 160,000 people. Hersh named the band after the… Read more »

Los Angeles – None of the Grammy nominees was more surprised than Chris Morris, who was taking notes along with the rest of the press corps Tuesday morning when he heard his name announced among the luminaries. Morris, who joined The Hollywood Reporter as music editor in September, was nominated for the liner notes he wrote for “No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion.” That Rhino Records compilation of various artists gives an overview of the genre’s early days by gathering 100 songs in a four-CD boxed set. Morris contributed a definitive context for the music in a thoroughly researched 116-page… Read more »