Search Results for: RILEY

Michael Jackson will make his very first in-store appearance next week at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. Epic Records announced Friday (November 2) that the reclusive pop superstar will appear on Wednesday at 3 p.m. to promote his recently released Invincible, which is widely expected to debut at #1 next week. Jackson will also promote his first all-new studio album in 10 years with a November 13 television special on CBS. The show will feature excerpts from Jackson’s star-studded 30th anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden in September. The CBS special kept Jackson from appearing in more than just… Read more »

Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Elton John led music stars honoring the victims and rescue workers of the World Trade Center attack in a concert that celebrated the energy and pride of New York. Joel tapped into the city’s emotion singing “New York State of Mind,” stirring a crowd at Madison Square Garden that included rows of uniformed police, firefighters and their families dancing, singing and screaming at the more than five-hour gala. Movie stars, including Harrison Ford, Jim Carrey and Meg Ryan, also joined politicians such as former President Clinton and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to launch what… Read more »

Ass-smacking enthusiast Wes Scantlin and his Puddle of Mudd bandmates will launch a monthlong headlining tour October 18 in Atlanta, but they’ll also take time to pay back some of the radio stations spinning their hit “Control.” Prior to the tour’s launch, Puddle of Mudd will play WAVF-FM’s Wavefest in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday with 311, the Long Beach Dub Allstars and others. WFXH-FM’s Fustercluck, with Sevendust, Pete Yorn and others in Savannah, Georgia, and WCHZ-FM’s Rockfest, featuring Sevendust, Days of the New and others in Augusta, Georgia, have also been worked into their itinerary. St. Louis band Mesh… Read more »

Striking a macabre note, a new album cover by hip-hop band The Coup – whose music has a strong anti-capitalist bent – had until recently depicted the World Trade Center exploding, the band’s label said on Wednesday. “We changed the artwork as soon as we saw what had happened,” said Daria Kelly, director of sales for 75 Ark, the band’s label. Kelly said the picture, which eerily shows group member “Boots” Riley holding a detonator in front of the exploding towers, was yanked from the San Francisco-based company’s Web site at (http://www.75ark.com) by 9:30 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, hours after… Read more »

In support of their debut release, Is This Room Getting Smaller (September 25 – Maverick Records), ONESIDEZERO joins 311 and Incubus for their North American tours. Following a string of sold-out LA club dates, ONESIDEZERO will pick up with 311 from September 11 in Las Vegas, NV through October 19 in Pensacola, FL. After a short break, the band will join Incubus for their West Coast tour dates beginning November 10 in Boise, ID, ending December 1 at the Universal Amphitheatre. “New World Order,” the first single from Is This Room Getting Smaller, is already making its mark on radio,… Read more »

Another punk band bursting out of Orange County, Thrice segregate themselves from the monotonous throng of pop lightweights overwhelming the SoCal scene by delivering some much needed meaty hardcore musicianship and potent lyrics. Bringing that furious sound of their debut Identity Crisis to the stage of Anaheim’s House of Blues recently (8/9), the foursome performed before a sold out hometown crowd with metal-crushing vigor. “It was really, really fun,” said breathless frontman and songwriter Dustin Kensrue backstage after the gig in an exclusive interview with Virginmega.com. “The kids were going crazy and we played almost all of our first record… Read more »

The Who’s onstage collaborations with Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher and others at a U.K. benefit concert last fall are captured in a new home video due next month. “The Who & Special Guests, Live at the Royal Albert Hall,” which also features Bryan Adams, Paul Weller, Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones and violin virtuoso Nigel Kennedy, will be released September 25 on DVD and VHS, according to producers of the project. The two-disc (or two-tape) set will include bonus material such as rehearsal footage and a performance of “Pinball Wizard” that can be viewed from multiple angles. Filmed at London’s famed… Read more »

Funk/punk/rap-rockers 311 will follow their summer on the Warped Tour with an extensive headlining tour across North America. The group will kick off a two-month swing in support of its latest album, From Chaos, at the Street Scene in San Diego on September 8 and play more than three dozen shows through the end of October. The trek culminates in a Halloween performance at the Universal Amphitheater in the group’s home base of Los Angeles. Shows in Texas and New Mexico from October 22-27 are also expected to be announced in the coming days. Frontman Nick Hexum tells LAUNCH that… Read more »

In the Fall of 2001, Virgin Records will release the long awaited Smashing Pumpkins “Greatest Hits” album. The tracks for the compilation are currently being selected by the band. To coincide with this release, Virgin will also release a two-CD package (limited edition) that will include the “Greatest Hits” disc as well as “Judas O Riley.” “Judas O Riley” is the follow-up to “Pisces Iscariot,” the 1994 b-sides release by the Pumpkins, and will include b-sides and rarities culled from the band’s sessions, which produced “Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” “Adore,” and “MACHINA/the machines of God.” The artwork for… Read more »

Ditching the usual motive to profit through stinging ticket costs and merch fees, one 2001 tour is ready to hit the road on Aug 23 in hopes of bringing the profits back to the people, making the benefits of attendance more than just musical. “One of the primary goals is to provide youth with both the knowledge and the resources to overcome the dilemmas they face today,” the official press release for the Plea For Peace-Take Action Tour states. Founded with a charitable purpose just as fierce as the rock performances it’s delivering, the outing seems to be riding on… Read more »