Search Results for: hard-rock

“Sort of like a Satan sandwich.” – That’s how singer Ozzy Osbourne, whose life will be brought to the living rooms of MTV fans, described living between neighbors Meatloaf and Pat Boone. But Boone, perhaps surprisingly, wins Osbourne’s “best-neighbor” award. “I was a bit nerdy toward the very name ‘Pat Boone,’” Osbourne told reporters. “But when I got to know him I was so pleasantly surprised. He was such a nice man.” Despite Osbourne’s hard-rocking pedigree, his family is feuding with his current neighbors, who Osbourne says bother them with late-night noise. “This guy thinks he’s some sort of folk… Read more »

More than four years after the suicide of their elegant frontman, Michael Hutchence, the five members of Australian rock band INXS will return to the U.S. concert circuit in May with a substitute vocalist. The group, famed for such hits as “Need You Tonight” and “Devil Inside,” will kick off a 40-city club tour in Anaheim, Calif., on May 30 with Jon Stevens at the helm, the group’s publicist said in a statement on Friday. Stevens, who has performed with INXS on short tours of Australia and Europe, is the former singer with Australian rock band Noiseworks, and a longtime… Read more »

Van Halen has “amicably parted company” with Warner Bros. Records, the only label it has ever recorded for. A spokesperson for the legendary hard-rock band confirmed to LAUNCH that the split happened about a month ago. As for what Van Halen has planned, the spokesperson told us, “Only they know at this point.” The group’s former representative at the label declined to comment on the situation. The band’s first release on Warner Bros. was 1978’s Van Halen. Over the next 20 years the band released 11 studio albums with three different lead singers (David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, and Gary… Read more »

Once little-noticed for its positive-minded hard-rock and funk blend, the 10-year-old Calabasas-based quintet Incubus broadened its sound a couple years ago and found a winning formula for its memorable riff-heavy, hip-hop-edged songs. Sales of the group’s previous two Epic/Immortal albums have been north of the platinum mark, including the new “Morning View,” and the band closed its first major headlining U.S. tour with a pair of triumphant sold-out homecoming shows in Universal City. With the ascension of Incubus to MTV darling has come the emergence of photogenic vocalist Brandon Boyd as sex symbol and main focus for much of the… Read more »

Brooklyn-born rapper Jay-Z’s latest LP, “Blueprint,” led a torrent of new releases at the top of the album charts this week as America’s record buyers continued to shop despite Sept. 11’s terrorist attacks. The Island/Def Jam release flew off shelves last week, shifting nearly 427,000 units, according to data compiled by SoundScan. Sales of “Blueprint” were powered by the near-ubiquity of its first single, “H.O.V.A. (Izzo),” on both urban radio and music television. Island/Def Jam’s chart dominance continued in the latest session with Nickelback’s “Silver Side Up,” which came in at No. 2 with 178,000 copies sold. “Silver Side Up”… Read more »

After performing in five acclaimed bands, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard is savoring his independence with a solo project, the first time a member of the famed Seattle rock combo has struck out on his own. Gossard remains an integral member of Pearl Jam, which is on hiatus for most of 2001, but his new album “Bayleaf” (Epic Records) finds him relishing life in the driver’s seat, where he can write a song one day and record it the next. “… As opposed to write some songs and know that we’re going to get together in six months, and maybe… Read more »

Music Choice today announced the September “Street Team” show, which gives viewers a glimpse into the world of rising young bands Craving Theo, Spike 1000, Stereomud and Endo. Shows air between September 10th and September 16th. Check http://www.musicchoice.com or your local cable company for specific times. Columbia Records, Music and Notorious Pictures Inc. cooperatively create “Music Choice Presents: Street Team,” the next generation of rock & roll television. Street Team is an all-access journey into the fast-paced world of rock & roll. Combining the best elements of reality television and music, Street Team http://streetteamtv.com goes outside the box of standard… Read more »

Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh has checked into a psychiatric hospital for treatment of an undisclosed ailment, leaving his bandmates to shoot a video without him, according to band assistant Karl Koch. Although they hope that Welsh will recover in time to join them on their upcoming tour, Weezer are holding auditions for a temporary replacement, Koch wrote on the band’s official Web site (www.weezer.com). “We unfortunately still don’t know what’s wrong with [Mikey], and continue to find it very difficult to find out any more from those who might know,” Koch said. “We wish him the very best and we… Read more »

The seemingly unsinkable ‘N Sync met their match in this week’s album rankings, as the teen phenoms ceded the top spot to the latest installment of blockbuster compilation series “Now That’s What I Call Music.” Sales of ‘N Sync’s “Celebrity” (Jive) dove 75% in their sophomore session to 460,000 units, blunting the giddy optimism generated the prior week when the record bowed with sales of nearly 2 million units. Filling the void on the music charts at No. 1 was “Now 7” (Virgin), the latest in a series that has had a virtual lock on multiplatinum status since its inception.… Read more »

The once fertile scene of Lollapalooza, Lilith Fair, the HORDE and Furthur has dried up in recent years, leaving the U.S. summer tour circuit a less festive place for traveling rock music festivals. So pop auteur Moby, in the wake of the success of his latest album, “Play,” has decided to do something about that. “I’ve spent a long time playing European festivals and was impressed by how eclectic and open they were,” explains Moby, whose Area: One tour opened Wednesday in Atlanta. “There was a period in the States where we had a few really interesting festivals…. When those… Read more »