PONTIAC, Mich. – It was a cold, dull and dreary Friday afternoon outside Clutch Cargo’s, but the atmosphere inside the locally renowned church-turned-concert hall was anything but.
Los Angeles – To his eight Grammy nominations and slew of No. 1 singles, R&B singer Usher has added the honor of most-shipped U.S. album of 2004 for “Confessions,” according to year-end certifications from the Recording Industry Assn. of America. With 8 million units shipped to retailers (but not necessarily sold through to consumers), the set is the highest-certified album in the star’s catalog. His previous best was 1997’s “My Way,” which is six times platinum. Usher also picked up three honors under the RIAA’s new digital awards program. “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, which spent 12 weeks atop… Read more »
While many bands have a hard time writing on the road, Switchfoot wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s great,” frontman Jon Foreman explained. “It’s like your diary. You can’t sleep in Berlin, so you write a song.” And it’s a good thing Switchfoot enjoy it, otherwise the San Diego rockers might never write new material. In 2004 alone, the band embarked on five national tours. Most of the two years prior were also spent on the road. “We’ve got like 40 songs written,” Foreman said. “We’ve been traveling a lot and we’ve been to different places in the world… Read more »
Rock band Switchfoot was among the winners at the Gospel Music Association’s (GMA) 35th annual awards show, held April 28 at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. The GMA Music Awards is considered gospel music’s biggest night of the year, where the GMA presents winning artists with gospel’s highest accolade, the Dove Award. Switchfoot took home top honors for “Rock Recorded Song of the Year” for “Ammunition” and “Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song” for “Meant to Live.” The Sparrow/Columbia band’s album “Beautiful Letdown” received the “Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year” award. Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman credits “The Beautiful Letdown’s” raw, live sound in part to… Read more »
The San Diego rock group Switchfoot are continuing to make an extraordinary impact with their Columbia/RED Ink debut “The Beautiful Letdown.” The album debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #85 the first week of its release and is still currently on the chart at #187, with sales nearing the 100,000 mark. Switchfoot have embarked on a U.S. headlining tour over the last three months, selling out nearly every show well in advance, in top markets including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Chicago, Nashville and recently in Los Angeles at both The House of Blues on June 13th as well… Read more »
He was called the “Quiet Beatle,” but “Frustrated Beatle” may have been a better tag for George Harrison, who found himself overshadowed in the Fab Four by two of the most important songwriters in history. Still, the guitarist managed to create a memorable body of work with the Beatles, and he notably turned his bandmates onto Eastern mysticism. Harrison, who died in Los Angeles Thursday after a long battle with cancer, wrote and sang such Beatles nuggets as “Something,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Here Comes The Sun” and “Taxman.” After the Beatles broke up, he embarked on a patchy… Read more »
