Search Results for: folk

In the words of one of their songs, Dancing Days are here again for fans of Led Zeppelin. Defunct for almost 23 years, the pioneering English band behind such hard rock classics as “Stairway to Heaven” and “Kashmir” has cleaned out its vaults to issue eight hours of previously unreleased live material on DVD and CD. The “Led Zeppelin DVD” contains footage from four tours spanning 1970 to 1979; the CD “How The West Was Won” combines two Los Angeles shows from 1972 to replicate a single concert. Remarkably, the band’s leader and guitarist, Jimmy Page, who compiled the releases,… Read more »

As a follow up to their radio hit “Girl All The Bad Guys Want,” Jive recording artist Bowling For Soup went back into the studio with producer Butch Walker and recorded three new tracks, “Punk Rock 101,” “Smile” and a cover of the 80’s A Flock of Seagulls smash “I Ran.” “Punk Rock 101” will be released to CHR and Alternative radio formats on May 19th. Bowling for Soup have recently appeared on “The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn,” “Regis & Kelly” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” They will be featured in the May 9th issue of People Magazine, as… Read more »

While most acts go on the road in support of new albums, several Def Jam Records artists will launch a tour next month behind the release of a new video game. Hosted by Method Man, the Def Jam Vendetta tour will encompass concert performances by Capone-N-Noreaga (CNN), Keith Murray, and Joe Budden, as well as a gaming contest where players will go head-to-head on the recently released “Def Jam Vendetta” video game. The tour will kick off May 10 in Milwaukee and visit more than 20 cities through early June. In each market, Murray, CNN, and Budden, as well as… Read more »

Just days after trying to turn the tables on illicit song-swappers by flooding the Net with bogus tracks from her American Life, Madonna was on the receiving end of some computerized comeuppance this weekend. An unknown assailant hacked into Madonna’s official site, www.madonna.com, on Saturday and posted the real MP3s of every song from American Life, which is due in stores Tuesday. Last week, the Material One and label Warner Bros. Records tried to thwart would-be pirates by issuing dummy song files to sites like KaZaA and Morpheus. The files appeared to be leaked tracks from American Life, but when… Read more »

John Mellencamp has posted a new song from his forthcoming album online. “To Washington,” which is available at mellencamp.com, is a politically themed track that was inspired by Woody Guthrie and the Carter Family. In a statement, Mellencamp notes, “I think the song is relevant, irrespective of the ticking of a ‘war clock.’” The “To Washington” lyrics include: “Eight years of peace and prosperity/Scandal in the White House/And election is what we need/From coast-to-coast to Washington/So America voted on a president/No one kept count/On how the election went/From Florida to Washington/Goddamn, said one side/And the other said the same/Both looked… Read more »

Howie Epstein, a former bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, died of what authorities suspect was a drug overdose. He was 47. Investigators were told Epstein had been using heroin, said Maj. Ron Madrid of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. Epstein was driven to St. Vincent Hospital by his girlfriend, who described him as “under distress.” He died Sunday. Epstein had been a respected musician and producer for more than 20 years. In addition to his work with Petty, he played on some of Bob Dylan’s albums in the 1980s and produced a Grammy-award winning album for… Read more »

You can tell Fred Durst’s been kind of down lately by the way he’s all agitated when responding to the have-you-and-Britney-been-dating questions and, more importantly, the fact that he’s not sporting his usual jaunty red baseball cap. At the 45th annual Grammy Awards in New York he wore a brown cap, an olive T-shirt over a gray long-sleeve top, and a sour though resolved expression when he admitted that he and Britney were seeing each other for a while, before she “played him out.” Durst was pretty much alone in his dressed-down look at the event, however. The men, everyone… Read more »

In a year fraught with political turmoil, turbulence and insecurity, music fans turned to their favorite songs to take them away from many of their problems and help them come to terms with others that were impossible to escape. Whether it was Eminem rapping, “Lose yourself in the music,” or Bruce Springsteen singing, “Come on up for the rising/ Come on up, lay your hands in mine,” the messages of unity were universal. At the 45th annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday (February 23) at New York’s Madison Square Garden, apolitical hedonists and social activists alike rallied together to celebrate the… Read more »

Setting aside the famous fractures of their friendship, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited Sunday to open the Grammy Awards show with their Vietnam era ballad “The Sound of Silence.” The folk-rock duo, which sold millions of records in the 1960s before breaking up, was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Grammys. Other such honorees included Etta James, Johnny Mathis, Glenn Miller and Tito Puente. Simon and Garfunkel have reunited periodically since ending their partnership, but this was believed to be their first performance together since 1993. Their appearance led to speculation that they may tour together, but… Read more »

At the American Music Awards two weeks ago, Justin Timberlake was pretty secretive about his upcoming concert plans. But now that touring partner Christina Aguilera has spilled the beans, Timberlake feels justified to start yapping about the summer extravaganza. “It was an idea that both of our managers concocted,” he said. “When it came to me I said, ‘It sounds really interesting. It would be fun to be on tour with somebody who’s that talented’ “. Although some folks have raised an eyebrow at the idea of Justin touring with a supposed rival of Britney Spears, Timberlake wants to downplay… Read more »