Search Results for: folk

Sad-song troubadour Elliott Smith was thought to have died by his own hand two months ago. Now, those investigating the presumed suicide of the 34-year-old folk-rocker aren’t so sure. A statement issued this week by the Los Angeles County coroner has clouded the case, saying officials have been unable to determine whether Smith was the one who initiated the two “penetrating stab wounds” in his chest. Therefore, an official cause of death has not yet been filed. “Despite a comprehensive and ongoing inquiry into the death by the LAPD detectives and coroner investigators together with a thorough examination by the… Read more »

The future of the music industry is being held, quite literally, in the palm of a twentysomething’s hand. Not the “business” side of the music industry – you know, the folks you’ve perhaps heard weeping into their bowls of caviar over the 31 percent decrease in album sales over the course of the past year, a downturn the suits pin on the advent of digital music downloading and CD burning. No, the “art” side of music business is being forceably changed. Artists are either coming to terms with changes in the ways their music is distributed – or doggedly railing… Read more »

Bruce Springsteen was the top concert draw across North America in 2003 as more than 1.6 million fans paid to take in his marathon shows and musings on the struggles of the working man. According to preliminary data published on Tuesday by concert trade publication Pollstar, the 54-year-old New Jersey rocker grossed $115.9 million from 47 shows to lead the annual rankings. His tour ranks as the second-biggest of all time, behind the Rolling Stones’ 1994 outing, which grossed $121.2 million. While Pollstar is still calculating final figures, it expects sales for all acts to rise for the fifth consecutive… Read more »

Multi-platinum-selling rapper Juvenile has returned to the Cash Money fold and is set to release his fifth solo album, Juve The Great on December 23. This marks Juvenile’s first release since 2001’s gold certified, Project English. The first single from the CD, “In My Life,” was produced by Cash Money’s in-house hitmaker, Mannie Fresh. The track has already garnered massive early radio airplay in major markets such as Washington D.C., Norfolk, Dallas, Raleigh and Juvenile’s native New Orleans. The video is in regular rotation at BET’s Rap City and will hit MTV2 Friday, December 19th. As a pioneering southern rapper,… Read more »

Once again the Swiss are remaining neutral. Swiss authorities have decided not to press charges against the rock ‘n’ roll oddity in the wake of a criminal investigation following complaints from a religious group offended by Manson’s February 2001 concert in Zurich. The city’s examining magistrate, Marcel Scherrer, declared on Monday that his office had found no evidence to suggest that Manson (real name: Brian Warner) incited violence or breached Swiss law that protects the sanctity of religion. In deciding not to file charges, the district prosecutor essentially rejected a grievance filed by Christians for Truth, a Swiss-based fundamentalist group… Read more »

Payable On Death, the newest album from Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum rock group P.O.D., has just been certified Gold by the RIAA after only four weeks on the album charts. Debuting at No. 9 on the Billboard album charts on November 4, the album has been bolstered by eight weeks of chart-topping airplay for their first single, “Will You,” and a #1 MTV TRL video. Ironically, as Payable On Death achieves Gold status, P.O.D. finds itself banned from Christian bookstores. Around 85 percent of Christian bookstores across the country will not allow kids to buy the new record in their stores because… Read more »

Daniel Martin Diaz, the artist who did the cover art for P.O.D.’s new Payable On Death album, says it’s “ironic” that the album has been banned by 85 percent of Christian bookstores in the U.S., reportedly because the cover is “occult.” Diaz told Australia’s Undercover.com, “It’s quite ironic that throughout my art career, I have been censored by a reputable art publication and denied inclusion into art exhibitions because my work is too religious. Now my work is being censored by religious outlets. Some folks need to enlighten themselves with art history.” Fans of the Christian-leaning P.O.D., many of them… Read more »

Currently in the midst of their Verizon Wireless/MTV Presents “Life On Display” intimate club tour, Puddle Of Mudd has announced today the addition of a benefit show to aid the victims of the San Diego area fires on November 15th at Soma in San Diego. All proceeds from this show will be donated to the Salvation Army who has set up a fund specifically to help the people of the San Diego area who have been affected by the fires. Says lead singer Wesley Scantlin, “Most of us live in Southern California and we’ve been on tour watching all this… Read more »

Smile Empty Soul will join multi-platinum rockers Puddle Of Mudd on their MTV Presents club tour starting November 4 in Atlanta, GA. The SoCal rockers continue to tour relentlessly in support of their self-titled debut album, having hit the road already with the likes of Trapt, Seether and Fuel. Following on the heels of Puddle of Mudd, the trio will round out 2003 with a headlining tour. Smile Empty Soul have just released their second single Nowhere Kids, a guileless portrayal of the plight of many adolescents. The sensitive and shocking companion video is now playing on both MTV2 and… Read more »

Monday October 27, 10:01 pm ET SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ – Soon, some lucky fan will become the fifth member of Puddle Of Mudd and enjoy a week of rock ‘n’ roll glory. The Flawless/Geffen Records band is launching the “Puddle Of Mudd Platinum Pass” contest, giving away sensational prizes including the grand prize: being the fifth member of the band for seven days! The winner and a guest will have their own bus accompanying Puddle Of Mudd on tour next year, joining the band in all their rock n’ roll activities, including: oversleeping, showing up late for… Read more »