Search Results for: folk

In a landmark opinion, the United States Copyright Office has affirmed the right of musicians to perform original compositions copyrighted in their own names, and traditional music in the public domain, anywhere they want to, whether or not the venue has a license from ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. The opinion comes in response to an inquiry from Congressman John M. McHugh (R, NY) on behalf of Richard Hayes Phillips, a performing musician. Mr. Phillips had lost a job as the only musician at Schemmy’s Restaurant in Rhinebeck, New York, after the owners received a series of threatening letters from BMI,… Read more »

British rock band The Darkness struck a blow for the big hair, skin-tight catsuits and wailing guitar solos of the 1980s Thursday, outshining rivals at Britain’s biggest heavy metal awards. The much-hyped quartet won two awards, for best album and best live act, at music magazine Kerrang!’s 10th annual ceremony in London. It was a far cry from the band’s humble roots in rural Suffolk, eastern England, where lead singer Justin Hawkins and the band used to perform before tiny audiences in bars. “We’ve always behaved like stadium rockers, even at the beginning when we were playing in pubs,” Hawkins… Read more »

Chiming in with the “Year of the Blues” theme, Jimi Hendrix’s record label is set to release two DVDs and one CD commemorating the American Folk Blues Festival, featuring performances in the early ’60s by folk and blues masters playing to European crowds. “The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966” (Experience Hendrix/Universal Music Enterprises) will be released in two DVD volumes Aug. 26, as will a compilation of 16 audio highlights on one CD. The releases are the first non Hendrix-related items issued by the Experience Hendrix imprint. The DVDs feature 36 previously unreleased performances by the likes of Muddy Waters,… Read more »

The Shortlist Organization announced today the complete “Long List” of eighty-six nominations for the 2003 Shortlist Music Prize, as selected by a panel of “Listmakers” including Flea, Erykah Badu, Perry Farrell, Chris Martin (Coldplay), and the directors Spike Jonze and Cameron Crowe. The ten finalists for the award will be announced in early September, and the third annual Shortlist Music Prize will be presented at a multi-artist concert on October 16th at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Plans for a Shortlist Awards Concert television special will be announced soon. “This year’s Long List features artists from five continents and… Read more »

In true DYI form, MxPx have been busy as heck since the release of THE EVER PASSING MOMENT three years ago. The band made rounds on the 2002 Warped Tour, filmed a Diet Pepsi commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVII and opened for Good Charlotte and New Found Glory this past spring. After recording over 40 songs, MxPx will release BEFORE EVERYTHING AND AFTER on September 16. Produced by Dave Jerden and mixed by Chris and Tom Lord-Alge, BEFORE EVERYTHING AND AFTER is MxPx’s sixth full-length album, the band’s third for A&M Records. “Everything Sucks (When You’re Gone)” is… Read more »

Hoobastank have announced dates for a headlining club tour today. Kicking off August 20th in San Antonio, TX Hoobastank wanted to give their fans the rare opportunity to hear new songs from their forthcoming album in an intimate setting. “We are so psyched to play our new songs for our fans in a small club atmosphere,” says Hoobastank singer, Doug Robb. “There is nothing better than that intimate environment where we can hang out with our fans.” Labelmates, Die Trying and Letter Kills will open up for Hoobastank on the entire club run. Having spent the summer recording in their… Read more »

With a diehard fan base behind them and stints on this summer’s Warped Tour and fall’s highly-anticipated Take Action Tour, Avenged Sevenfold are poised for big things. The band’s seamless concoction of metal, hardcore, punk, Goth and glam has garnered them some serious raves from the music press: Rolling Stone recently described them as, „a Goth metal band with a singer who looks like Elvis and sounds like Axl Rose. Revolver labeled it, “brutal hardcore with emotive harmonies, Priest-like riffs and Goth imagery.” Metal Maniacs acclaimed, “If Iron Maiden were re-incarnated as a metalcore band, they’d come blazing back of… Read more »

Anyone who pegs Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carrabba as a sad pompadoured sack based on heartbreakers like “Again I Go Unnoticed” and “Screaming Infidelities” should get ready to change their perception of him. His new album, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar, portrays the man tagged by many as a poster boy for emo in a mood that contradicts his conventionally accepted disposition. “I’m actually excited about the fact that it’s a happier record,” Carrabba said. “If it dispels those conceptions that I’m like, ultra mopey, that would be great because anybody who’s met me can tell you… Read more »

I had high expectations for this album, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I’m suppose to be impartial and objective, right? When a new album comes in, should certain bands be given a step up or step down because of some internal bias? Ok, right now, you’re thinking ‘just get on with the review, already’; and normally I would get right into telling you about how much I like this album. I would tell you that Sean Mackin brings a unique sound to the guitar-bass-drum, three-chord element that typically defines this genre. I would mention that the vocals are… Read more »

Folks who have checked into this year’s Summer Sanitarium have noted how all the opening bands are singing praises to Metallica. Limp Bizkit even cover “(Welcome Home) Sanitarium” and flash the words “Metallica is the sh-” onscreen during their set. Such over-the-top idol worship might seem a bit forced, but the headliners insist it’s not. And the admiration goes both ways. “The highlight for me is just the vibe between the bands,” drummer Lars Ulrich said during the Philadelphia stop of the tour right after spending 30 minutes hanging out with Linkin Park. “Sometimes when you play these big places… Read more »