Search Results for: ghost

Their music has always been personal and uncompromising, expressing their distaste for authority and their penchant for classic punk. But Rancid have never worn their hearts on their sleeves – until now. The band’s latest album, Indestructible, is a musical manifesto of strength and courage, reflecting all the styles in the group’s arsenal – from the Clash-tinged groove of “Memphis” to the roaring punk firestorm of “Born Frustrated.” Lyrically, however, is where the real breakthroughs take place. Songs like “Ghost Band” and “Tropical London” are more poignant and confessional than most of the band’s past output, revealing a sensitivity that… Read more »

A tiny Brooklyn, New York, record label is redefining the age-old battle of the punks vs. the suits. Go-Kart Records founder Greg Ross has a problem with the RIAA’s use of lawsuits to fight online piracy, so he began giving away music for free on Friday. First he wrote an open letter to the recording industry trade group, lambasting its take on the problem of illegal downloading. Then he posted six full albums from his latest signings on the Go-Kart Web site. The response has been overwhelming. “Our tech guy just told me we had 80,000 hits in one second… Read more »

Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black” who became a towering figure in American music with such hits as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” and “A Boy Named Sue,” died Friday. He was 71. “Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure,” Cash’s manager, Lou Robin, said in a statement issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville. He said Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT. “I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during this very difficult time,” Robin said. Cash had been released… Read more »

Don’t cry for Chris Carrabba – sure, the Dashboard Confessional singer may have suffered a broken heart (or two), but post-punk’s sensitive poster boy is clearly on the mend and ready for bigger action. Where he might have once shied away from singing some of his vocals out of stage fright, he now lets the crowd take over – as he did Thursday at his Roseland Ballroom tour stop – as part of a coy quid pro quo. Carrabba spent just as much time in front of the mic as away from it. “Get it out of your system,” he… Read more »

Less Than Jake, currently riding high with their radio hit “The Science Of Selling Yourself Short,” took time out during the So Cal swing of the Warped Tour to play the grand opening of the Apple Store in Santa Monica, CA on July 11th. With a line of fans circling around the block waiting to get in, the band launched into a first- time-ever acoustic set for their devoted followers. Four songs from that performance, “Suburban Myth,” “The Ghosts of You and Me,” “History of a Boring Town” and “Welcome to the New South” will be available exclusively on Apple… Read more »

Alternative rock outfit Dashboard Confessional has unveiled plans for a fall tour, beginning Aug. 30 in Pittsburgh and wrapping Oct. 7 in St. Paul, Minn. The Chris Carrabba-led band will be touring in support of its upcoming Vagrant album, “A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar,” due Aug. 12. The first single, “Hands Down,” is now available for paid download from Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The new disc was produced by Gil Norton (the Pixies, Foo Fighters) and includes such songs as “Carry This Picture for Luck,” “Rapid Hope Loss,” “Ghost of a Good Thing,” “Several Ways To Die… Read more »

In a move likely designed to appeal to fans disappointed by indie punk band Rancid’s switch to Warner Bros., the group’s new album will not carry any mention of the label’s name. The veteran act has left its long-time home of Hellcat/Epitaph Records for the release of its forthcoming album, “Indestructible,” due Aug. 26. A spokesperson for the band says Rancid will continue to be aligned with Hellcat, the label co-run by frontman Tim Armstrong and Epitaph founder/Bad Religion member Brett Gurewitz. “It’s a unique deal that doesn’t play by the traditional record biz rules,” says the spokesperson. “It’s Rancid… Read more »

It was as if the tattooed hand of a punk rock god reached down and anointed Andrew W.K. The hard partying rocker was enthusiastically playing his anthem “I Get Wet” as the skies opened up and a torrential downpour put an early end to the eighth stop on this year’s Vans Warped Tour. He always sports a maniacal smirk and a dirty T-shirt, but even W.K., surrounded on the stage by a dozen head-banging fans, couldn’t help but laugh. Just one week into a grueling cross-country summer trek, the ninth edition of the punk and extreme-sports tour experienced both kinds… Read more »

For the next Godsmack single, “Serenity,” vocalist Sully Erna reached to one of his idols for inspiration. Not only was Rush drummer Neil Peart a childhood role model for the singer before he traded in drums for a mic and PA, the acrobatic drummer’s obsession with motorcycles is one shared by Godsmack’s frontman. So, when Erna read Peart’s book, “Ghost Rider” – which is about his experiences hopping on a hog and road-tripping around the country to cope with the tragic loss of his daughter and wife – the Godsmack singer was so blown away he wrote “Serenity” in tribute.… Read more »

In a pop-punk field increasingly populated with interchangeable sound-alike bands, Good Charlotte has made a bid to break away from the pack with its second CD, “The Young & the Hopeless.” Lead singer Joel Madden, who along with twin brother Benj writes the group’s songs, credits Eric Valentine, the producer of “The Young & the Hopeless,” with helping to expand the group’s musical horizons. “He challenged me to write different songs than just a bunch of songs that were kind of the same thing,” Joel Madden said. “He was like, ‘Why don’t you try writing some songs that you wouldn’t… Read more »