Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz is far more recognizable than the average rock band bassist. With jet-black asymmetrical bangs, slightly smeared eyeliner and a toothy grin, Wentz certainly makes for a memorable image, but it’s his public antics that have created such an unforgettable impression. “I honestly don’t care what the perception is of me to the world,” says the 27-year-old, while sipping on a Starbucks’ vanilla latte on a rainy day in New York City. “It’s a weird thing to have come to, but after you’ve gone through the ringer so many times you don’t care. But I do… Read more »
During the first two weeks in January, the most popular album in the country was the soundtrack to “Dreamgirls.” But that statistic was less impressive than it might have been, because for those two weeks, “Dreamgirls” sold around 60,000 copies each week, which made for the two lowest totals for a #1 album in the history of the SoundScan era, which began in 1991. Granted, January is always a pretty slow month for album sales and releases. But around that same time, the new Fall Out Boy album, Infinity on High, leaked online and was one of the most eagerly… Read more »
Following the release of Fall Out Boy’s 2003 full-length debut, Take This to Your Grave, the Chicago quartet was flooded with hyperbolic praise. The group, which was signed by tiny independent label Fueled by Ramen, was declared the “next big thing” by multiple media outlets, and its album sold more than 200,000 copies. So expectations were high for the band’s major-label follow-up, From Under the Cork Tree, which came out on May 3 and will debut at #9 on next week’s Billboard albums chart. Some pundits predicted a groundbreaking pop-punk expedition, and others awaited a heart-rending emo excursion, but Fall… Read more »
If his bubble burst and all else failed, Benji Madden is sure there’d be more than a few regular jobs waiting for him. Flipping burgers, working in department stores, tending cash registers, living in small towns. That’s what Madden and his Good Charlotte bandmates were used to before rock stardom. “One thing I never worry about is money. Because I have my health and my family and I can always go back to work,” Benji said. “We’ve all had a million day jobs,” the 25-year-old guitarist/vocalist said during an interview at a Manhattan hotel. “We got by fine then. If… Read more »
For years, both onstage and on “The Osbournes,” we’ve witnessed legendary metal singer Ozzy Osbourne shake, stammer, stutter and shuffle around with a walk that grew increasingly hunched over and motor functions that only seemed to be getting worse. Speculation ran rampant. Were these maladies related to years of drug abuse dating back to the Black Sabbath days? Parkinson’s Disease? Muscular Dystrophy? The answer is, in fact, none of the above. Thanks to a Boston neurological specialist, Ozzy now knows the cause of the “shakes” that have plagued him for decades and with the help of a new medication, he’s… Read more »
While many consider the Hives to be the answer to their rock and roll prayers, a single question remains at the fore: when can fans expect a new album? Their current LP, Veni Vidi Vicious, is two years old – although a major-label reissue in June fostered much wider exposure – and longtime Hives fans are jonesing for some new material. Despite feeling their fans’ pain, the Hives will serve no album before its time. “We hope to finish it when we’re done with it,” was guitarist Nicholaus Arson’s closeted response to the well-worn query. He’s reluctant to cite a… Read more »
Just because New Found Glory are getting love from the “TRL” crowd doesn’t mean they’re changing their ways or cleaning up their act. Sure, the band’s next video is for the song “Head on Collision,” one of the slower, more melodic tracks from their latest album, Sticks & Stones. But the clip, directed by the Malloys, will reveal a previously unseen twisted side of the group thanks to the help of schlock horror production company Troma Films, which provided the makeup and special effects for the video. “Me and our singer Jordan are really big fans of ‘The Toxic Avenger’… Read more »
“One-man band”: when you hear that phrase you probably picture a dude on a street corner with a pair of cymbals between his knees, a drum on his back, some kazoos in his mouth and a guitar case full of quarters. Think again. While naming a band after yourself is fine and good for guys like Dave Matthews and Jon Spencer, some band names are actually just cryptic pseudonyms for a single, mad studio genius. The past year has seen an explosion of do-it-yourself-ers, including ex-Eels bassist Tommy Walter with his band Abandoned Pools, stone alone emo-ter Chris Carrabba of… Read more »
Disturbed is finding some new challenges now that it has moved from its spot as the OzzFest second-stage headliner to a role as support act on the main stage. The group made the switch after an estimated 20,000 fans swarmed the second stage on the tour’s opening day in Disturbed’s hometown of Chicago last month (June 8). Guitarist Dan Donegan tells LAUNCH how things have changed on the big stage. “It’s definitely different,” he says. “I mean it’s a bit more challenging ’cause, you know, a lot of the venues, most of the venues, have pavilion seats so you have… Read more »
Guitarist Stephen Harrison and drummer Aric Improta “knew it wasn’t going to be easy to start again from scratch, but that phrase became our ethos.” After departing from Fever 333 in October 2022, the dynamic duo knew it was time to sonically explore corners of the alternative landscape they hadn’t reached. This time, without creative differences in their way. Luckily, House Of Protection—their new venture—found its sound on their first day of writing. The band combines the raw grit and uncensored ferocity fans from the past decade have come to expect from the artists, tinged with a humble and unique approach to modern… Read more »
