Search Results for: Rock am Ring

CANBERRA, Australia – Australian rock star-turned-lawmaker Peter Garrett said Monday he expected to return to Parliament on Tuesday following a health scare over the weekend. Garrett – former lead singer for the band Midnight Oil – collapsed Saturday as he waded from the surf at a beach in his southern Sydney electoral district and spent 10 hours in a hospital, undergoing tests that failed to explain his fainting spell. The 51-year-old, known for his passionate environmentalism, rested at his family’s country home when Parliament resumed Monday for the year’s final two-week session. Garrett issued a statement saying he intended to… Read more »

New York – The drummer of indie punk band Fugazi has created a new DVD series that spotlights live performances from notable rock acts in a given city, all recorded in a single day. The catch: the bands play one song each in an empty house that faces imminent destruction. In the initial installment of “Burn To Shine,” taped Jan. 14 in Washington, D.C., the house was burned to the ground at the end of the day as a training exercise by the Montgomery Fire Dept. “In D.C., bands always break up and disappear before their time, but the artists… Read more »

After witnessing this incredibly uneventful performance by “super group” Velvet Revolver, it’s safe to surmise that they’re getting by on history alone. Like many bands before them, they feed off of what their individual names used to mean and are entirely undeserving of the glory bestowed upon them. Now, before you start firing off hate emails, read on. Given the wealth of talent comprising Velvet Revolver and the obvious success of debut album Contraband, one cannot deny that this quintet is capable of writing a few solid tunes. The problem is that, aside from purely ego centric reasons, they’re just… Read more »

New York – Jerry Wexler is the classic record business guy. For more than three decades, Wexler, as co-owner of Atlantic Records and later senior VP at Warner Bros. Records, signed and worked with scores of vocalists and instrumentalists, and produced some of the greatest rock and soul records ever made. Now 86 and long retired, Wexler is still applauded as an insightful producer, crafty deal-maker and promoter, divining rod of hit songs and occasional writer of songs and liner notes. “He is one of my greatest heroes,” Sire Records founder Seymour Stein says. “Jerry is a consummate record man… Read more »

Virgin Mobile USA and Universal Music Group (UMG) are at it again – today announcing another major exclusive mobile music deal. This time around, the two companies are serving up ringtones and voice greetings from top-selling Island Records act Sum 41 and their newly released album CHUCK, featuring the hit single “We’re All to Blame.” As the first rock offering in the First Dibs program, Virgin Mobile, in conjunction with The Island Def Jam Music Group and UMG, will offer its customers exclusive access to Superphonic (a.k.a. real music) ringtones from Sum 41’s latest release, CHUCK. The album was named… Read more »

Toronto’s ACC was packed to the brim with people of all ages, ready to check out the Beasties. After a stripped-down set by Talib Kweli, The Beastie Boys touched down. Wearing old school uniforms (Mike D rocking archetypal Cazal shades) and hysterically oversized mesh caps, the B-Boys kicked an opening set that never seemed to quit. As bizarre images and camera shots of Mike, Adam and Adam floated around on massive screens, the three were in constant motion, seeming to tag each other as they traded verses. After about 15 minutes of this, they took a moment to catch their… Read more »

Washington – Music superstar Elton John will appear in a national TV advertising campaign for the Delphi MyFi satellite radio, the first portable, hand-held unit for listening to XM Satellite Radio, the nation’s leading provider of satellite radio with more than 2.5 million subscribers. The TV spot will premiere the week of November 15, following the November 9 release of Elton’s much-anticipated, critically-acclaimed album “Peachtree Road.” The spot, directed by award-winning music video director and photographer David LaChapelle, features Elton and his new hit single “Answer in the Sky.” “Elton John is one of the most important and beloved artists… Read more »

New York – This year’s American Music Awards will feature stars such as Usher, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani and Rod Stewart, but the most talked-about moment might come from the Beatles. The show plans to air a 2 1/2-minute tape from 1964 that was recently discovered. “We’ve got a wonderful old… tape that’s been lost for 40 years that nobody’s seen since it first aired featuring the Beatles singing ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand,’” producer Dick Clark told The Associated Press this week. “It was an English show that aired here that for some reason or… Read more »

New York, Ny – Punk superstars Simple Plan saw plenty of action as their new album Still Not Getting Any…soared to the top of the charts. The band’s sophomore album entered the Billboard Top 200 at #3 (trailing closely behind hard core rappers Jay Z/R. Kelly and Trick Daddy.) The album, with sales of 139,928, marks the band’s highest chart position to date and the highest rock debut this week. In addition to their monstrous success stateside, Still Not Getting Any…topped the chart in their native Canada at #2 and was the #3 top selling album in Japan. “Simple Plan… Read more »

While the vote count in Ohio plays out, there is one fact that is not in dispute. The same percentage of eligible voters between 18-29 showed up to the polls yesterday as they did in the 2000 Presidential election. Despite the fact that over $40 million was spent by the New Voters Project, Rock the Vote, MTV Choose or Lose, Declare Yourself, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, and Smack Down Your Vote, as well as the Democratic and Republican National Committee, the percentage of eligible voters between 18-29 in yesterday’s election remained at 17%. However, the campaigns did increase the number… Read more »