Search Results for: F. Hero

The Blasters’ singer and guitarist Phil Alvin speaks like the band plays: short, fast and furious. “My father was very upset when I quit school,” he said, trying at breakneck speed to make his words catch up with his thoughts. “He took the neck of my guitar and screwed it to the dustpan. Then he scooped the dog crap with it, and left it in the garage. Every time I turned on the light on, I’d have to walk past it.” But Phil ignored his father’s exhortations, and with the help of his younger brother Dave, formed one of the… Read more »

The seminal album of British punk rock celebrates its 25th birthday on Monday and shows no sign of growing old gracefully. On October 28, 1977, the Sex Pistols unleashed their debut album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” on an unsuspecting world. It shot straight to the top of the album charts and stayed there for an astonishing 47 weeks. Everything about the album was designed to shock, from its provocative title, its 12 short, explosive songs and its garish pink and yellow pop art album cover. The names of the tracks were printed on the album sleeve… Read more »

The story of Napster, the failed online song-swapping service, always promised the kind of larger-than-life elements Hollywood thrives on – corporate intrigue, a nail-biting court battle and a young hero. Now comes Napster, the movie. Cable network MTV on Wednesday said it has reached a deal for the exclusive rights to the life story of Shawn Fanning, who created the controversial and wildly popular file-sharing program in 1999 while he was a 19-year-old student at Northeastern University in Boston. The movie, tentatively scheduled to air in 2003-2004, may even star Fanning, now 21, as himself. “Anything is possible and the… Read more »

Ever since their self-titled debut album came out in 1984, Bon Jovi have churned out songs about the triumphs and struggles of young working-class America. It’s where Jon Bon Jovi and his bandmates came from, and for many years the singer’s experiences and dreams provided abundant subject matter for rousing anthems and heartfelt ballads. But when former common folk turn into superstars, sometimes it’s hard for them to really still empathize with the everyman. That might explain why on his band’s new album, Bounce, due October 8, Jon Bon Jovi has once again tapped into what he knows, and it’s… Read more »

Many fans credit Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and his songs with helping them get through tough times. Tyler Connolly, frontman of Theory of a Deadman, has Kroeger to thank for just about everything. Before Nickelback were rock stars, Connolly was a struggling musician without a band, manager or record deal and with only a pipe dream of ever being recognized outside his hometown of Vancouver, Canada. Then one night at a party Connolly handed a demo tape to Kroeger, which led to an enthusiastic call from the burgeoning musician, who wanted to produce Theory. Kroeger’s contribution didn’t end there. When Alice… Read more »

“I have a buttload of material,” says Courtney Love of the archive of unreleased material by Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. “I have the holy grail of rock & roll. That’s the story.” There are 109 tapes. “But not all of it’s great. Some of it’s fragments.” She thinks there are between five and eight “solidly good,” unheard acoustic songs. “There’s some stuff that’s not very melodic that I’m not fond of, but, hey, if you’re a fan of [Radiohead’s] Kid A, it might be really great. “On those tapes,” Love continues, “are everything from shitty collages to some pretty stunning,… Read more »

Pete Yorn plans to release two albums next year – the follow-up to 2001’s acclaimed Musicforthemorningafter and a record he made before his major-label debut. While the former will feature the same introspective singer/songwriter roots rock showcased in singles like “For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is)” and “Strange Condition,” the latter will reveal another side of Yorn, who is currently touring with Weezer. “At the time, I was really into Guided by Voices, so it’s lo-fi, really blown-out vocals and guitars,” Yorn said backstage at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California, this weekend. “A lot of reverb. I started every… Read more »

With the passing of Layne Staley, those who knew him best remember him as deeply troubled yet immensely talented. Described as a caring person, he made great strides to elevate an underground genre to the mainstream. In the early ’90s, Alice in Chains, along with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, were directly behind Nirvana on the grunge wave that began in Seattle and cascaded throughout the country. The singer’s Alice in Chains bandmates – guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez, drummer Sean Kinney and former bassist Mike Starr – their manager and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell gathered Saturday, a day after police… Read more »

It’s not exactly what Van Halen fans had hoped for, but it’s definitely intriguing. David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, former singers for the group, will co-headline a national tour beginning May 29 near Cleveland. And if Tuesday’s (April 16) press conference to announce the outing is any indication, Diamond Dave and the Red Rocker are going to be the perfect pairing. Like a rock and roll comedy duo, the blond bastions of partying traded gags one-after-another at the Sky Bar, setting each other up and flashing face-wide grins at each punch line. “Sammy and I are like fraternity brothers… Read more »

Sure, everyone likes a little Jay-Z, Nelly and DMX party music now and then, but sometimes you just want a bit more to chew on, and for a lot of people that means turning to the world of underground rap. The Difference, a compilation of 12 new songs due in June on the Official Jointz label, is already catching a buzz thanks to “Clear ‘Em Out,” an alleged Nelly dis track by KRS-One featuring Tonedeff. According to the album’s producer, Domingo (Fat Joe, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony), when he asked KRS-One if the track was a direct attack on the St. Louis… Read more »