Search Results for: Alan Day

Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Damon Dash put just a little more of a pimp stroll than usual in his confident swagger as he walked into the penthouse of Manhattan’s Hotel Giraffe Thursday night. Dash was about to show a handful of invited guests his trump card – the new Jay-Z album, The Blueprint, which features appearances by Eminem and, apparently, Michael Jackson. “I don’t want to say we’re the backbone of hip-hop, because that may sound arrogant, but it is what it is,” Dash said before playing seven songs from the LP, which comes out September 18 and features the single… Read more »

Warped Tour 2001 closes on Sunday (August 12) in Pontiac, Michigan at the Phoenix Plaza Amphitheater. The tour has been described as a “punk rock summer camp” and this year is no exception. However, there have been a few cases of fighting between the acts on the bill. In fact, D12 and Esham were kicked off the tour a week ago for fighting. Alien Ant Farm singer Dryden Mitchell said that some bands on the tour have resorted to violence or violent threats. “It’s sad. You know why it’s sad is because it has nothing to do with music, you… Read more »

If last year’s inaugural Rolling Rock Town Fair was the beta edition, this year’s event, billed as Rolling Rock Town Fair 2.0, definitely was an improved version -logistically, at least. Musically, it could be argued that, while Saturday’s headliners Live and Stone Temple Pilots really delivered, they were no match for last year’s Moby and the Red Hot Chili Peppers combo. The daylong event at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds, an hour or so southeast of Pittsburgh (concert traffic notwithstanding), also featured metal-minded modern rockers Deftones, Incubus, Staind, Tantric and Oleander… and, of course, beer. The entire event, in marketing terms, is… Read more »

The writing is on the wall – and on the request lists of radio stations all across the nation – America wants AFROMAN. In just a few short weeks, AFROMAN’s breakout smash hit, “Because I Got High” has become the #1 most requested song at top radio stations around the country. “Because I Got High” is blitzing radio stations nationwide, with an unprecedented avalanche of requests leaving no doubt that the track will be the top “feel-good” single of the year. The first single from the upcoming Universal Records release The Good Times, “Because I Got High,” is a tongue-in-cheek… Read more »

Founding Beach Boy Alan Jardine received a severe legal setback Monday, when a U.S. District Court ruling prohibited him from touring with his band under the name the “Beach Boys Family and Friends,” as he did throughout 1999. Instead, he may continue as the “Family and Friends Beach Band.” “The Beach Boys” moniker is used by the touring band featuring another founding member, Mike Love. “We are happy with the result,” said attorney Mike Flynn, who represents Brother Records International (BRI) the Beach Boys’ corporate entity. “This terminates his entire case.” Jardine’s attorney Jeffrey Benice said the ruling will be… Read more »

Picture this: A kind of “MTV Unplugged” on The Travel Channel. Then you have an idea of what to expect from “Music In High Places,” airing 10 p.m. EDT Friday on MTV. This week’s outing offers an unusual and entertaining acoustic performance by the Deftones, a band whose ear-shattering, in-your-face music won a best metal Grammy this year. “This is a group that really played into the philosophy of ‘Music In High Places,”‘ said the show’s executive producer, Parvene Michaels. That philosophy was to take the Deftones out of their concert venues, unplug their electrical guitars, microphones and amplifiers and… Read more »

Rock-band theme songs went out with the Monkees, but you wouldn’t know that when Susan Cowsill of the Continental Drifters steps to the microphone for “Someday.” It sounds like she’s singing about the very reasons for her band and its work. “I’m gonna pay my bills and stand where I stand,” she sings, “and maybe even start a little rock ‘n’ roll band. And maybe my friends will give me a hand. And if that doesn’t take away my sorrow, I’m gonna get up again and do it tomorrow.” Eyes closed, she holds the last note – bathed in the… Read more »

The Beastie Boys, Alanis Morissette, the Dave Matthews Band and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio are among the artists banding together in the “New Power Project,” an effort to fight President George W. Bush’s energy plan. The members of the coalition – which also includes Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and Blues Traveler – hope to use their Web sites, online fan mailing lists and tours to get their fans to petition Congress and the Bush administration to alter federal energy policy. “President Bush’s energy plan recommends drilling for oil in the biological heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, bringing back… Read more »

Time was, pop stars who hit it big would ride out the success of an album and then lie low for awhile, presumably restoring their creative energies and also whetting the public’s appetite for the next record. Not any more. Today’s acts – wary of fickle fans and short attention spans – are pumping out albums in quick succession so as not to lose the spotlight to someone else. “Unfortunately right now, you have to just hit while you’re hot,” said teen pop starlet Jessica Simpson, who released her self-titled second album in June, a year and a half after… Read more »

While Madonna prepares to bring her “Drowned World Tour” to North America, her record label has reportedly jettisoned a half-dozen staffers. Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition that the president of Maverick Records had resigned while five other staffers were axed. The label, whose top acts include Canadian pop singer Alanis Morissette and hard rock band the Deftones, blamed deteriorating market conditions, the trade paper said. Label president Bill Bennett, who had been with Maverick for only two years, will not be replaced, Daily Variety said. It was not clear how many people are employed at Maverick. Madonna runs… Read more »