Search Results for: folk

Chris Blackwell knew he wanted to be a part of the documentary 1 Giant Leap as soon as musicians Jamie Catto (Faithless) and Duncan Bridgeman played him the rough demos of songs they’d written for the program. The same man whose gut feeling led him to sign Bob Marley and U2 to his Island Records imprint heard what the two musicians had to offer and gave them the green light. “I loved the music of it,” says Blackwell of the documentary due out in March. “I loved the way the music was put together. I loved the different influences of… Read more »

311’s spring tour with Hoobastank, which launches next month, will include a very, very special holiday show in New Orleans. No, not Valentine’s Day. Not Saint Patrick’s Day. We’re talking 311 Day, and for the second time in three years, the hip-hop-reggae-rockers will celebrate their self-declared March 11 holiday in the Big Easy, complete with a proclamation by New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial. Circus performers and other surprise guests are expected at the concert, which will be an extended show with rare live items on the set list. Hotel packages are being offered in New Orleans for out-of-town guests,… Read more »

‘NSYNC were the public’s preference for Favorite Musical Group at the 28th People’s Choice Awards, while folks favored a more country feel for their favorite individual artists. The pop quintet received one of only three musical awards doled out Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Faith Hill and Garth Brooks were named Favorite Female and Male Musical Performers. In all, 18 awards were given out in film, television and movie categories. Actor Tom Hanks walked off with the most movie honors – Favorite Motion Picture Star and Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Drama – while “Friends” took the lead… Read more »

Although two of the Backstreet Boys have gotten into some adult-oriented trouble of late, in August, fans can catch the group projected in a much more child-like light. The pop quintet will be rendered as animated manimals (part man, part animal) in an hour-long special broadcast of the PBS children’s cartoon “Arthur,” in which all the characters are drawn with some amalgam of human and animal characteristics. Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough are depicted as rabbits, while Kevin Richardson, Nick Carter and A.J. McLean resemble bear-like creatures. The episode, tentatively titled “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” will premiere in selected… Read more »

Looking to take advantage of what they say is a large and lucrative niche audience untapped by television programmers, two cable divisions of Viacom (news/quote), MTV Networks and Showtime, are developing a plan to create the first cable channel aimed directly at gay viewers. The still unnamed channel would be offered to cable system operators as a pay channel like HBO or Showtime – only much less costly at $5 or $6 a month – but it would also include advertising. MTV Networks and Showtime have conducted extensive audience testing and concluded that there is, as one Showtime executive put… Read more »

Atlantic Records has named longtime label executives Craig Kallman and Ron Shapiro as the first co-presidents of the Warner Music Group imprint, filling a post that has been vacant since co-chairman and CEO Val Azzoli Azzoli held it six years ago. Both execs will report to Azzoli, who shares his own post with venerable label co-founder Ahmet Ertegun. The teamwork aspect is something that sets Atlantic apart from many other labels, where the focus on one CEO can lead to missed opportunities, Shapiro said. “At some other companies it’s clearly always about one person,” the former publicist told Daily Variety.… Read more »

Veteran punk act Bad Religion is lining up a North American tour in support of its upcoming Epitaph album “The Process of Belief,” due out Jan. 22. Before setting out with Hot Water Music and Less Than Jake for a March 1 opener in Houston, Bad Religion will play four special club shows on Jan. 23 in San Francisco and Jan. 24-26 in Los Angeles. Those gigs will mark only the second live appearance that founding member Brett Gurewitz has made with Bad Religion since leaving the group in 1995. As previously reported, “The Process of Belief” is Bad Religion’s… Read more »

As Epic Records commitment to artist development continued to flourish in 2001, Epic will bring an entirely new group of exciting artists to the stage in 2002. The Epic team will work as one cohesive unit towards our common goal: helping our artists rise to the top of the marketplace. EPIC RECORDS 2001 RECAP Flickerstick – Winners of the breakthrough VH1 series Bands on the Run released their major label debut Welcoming Home The Astronauts. The album was re-mixed by Tom Lord Alge (Weezer, Blink-182, Marilyn Manson) and includes two new songs, “Execution By X-mas Lights” and “Smile.” Flickerstick will… Read more »

Gavin, for more than forty years known as The Most Trusted Name In Radio, today confirmed the appointment of veteran radio programmer and air personality Wayne Coy to the post of Top-40/Rhythm Crossover Editor. Coy joins Gavin after 20 years in radio including stints in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, San Jose, Mobile, Green Bay and most recently, as Senior Program Director/Morning Driver at Sweet 98 (KQKQ-Omaha). “Gavin is known as the most trusted name in radio for a reason. Bill Gavin and Dave Sholin were two of the biggest influences on me as a broadcaster and being given the chance to continue… Read more »

Bad Religion has lined up a string of tour dates in support of its upcoming release, Process Of Belief, including a trio of Los Angeles shows following the album’s January 22 release. The group, which recently welcomed back into the lineup co-founding member and Epitaph Records boss Brett Gurewitz, will perform at four record release parties, beginning January 23 in San Francisco and then three shows at different clubs on L.A.’s famed Sunset Strip on January 24-26. The punk veterans will then take their music to other parts of the country beginning March 2 in Dallas. The tour also features… Read more »