Search Results for: Rock am Ring

Used record bins are flooded with albums from swaggering British lads whose bands have conquered England and have their eyes set on cracking the States. Not too many of them can claim to have their music used in two of the most popular TV shows in the country before most Americans have ever heard of them, though. The vaguely scary, beat-crazy sound you might have heard on recent episodes of “Desperate Housewives” and “CSI: Miami” comes courtesy of Kasabian, currently infecting American ears with the intense marriage of druggy beats and massive guitar riffs from their self-titled debut. “We’re going… Read more »

Reed Richards – a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, frontman for the Marvel Comics supergroup the Fantastic Four – was the son of a wealthy physicist and grew up to become an aeronautical engineer, the captain of a starship and, um, elastic, thanks to cosmic rays. Things were a little different for Taking Back Sunday frontman Adam Lazzara. He grew up in North Carolina. But when Activision, the makers of the upcoming “Fantastic Four” video game (based on the surefire summer blockbuster of the same name), came calling with an offer to feature a new TBS song in the game, there was no… Read more »

Beverly Hills – Bono and Brad Pitt brought their star power to the kickoff of the One Campaign on Wednesday, calling on people to come together to fight the global crises of AIDS, hunger and poverty. Explaining that “it’s not a cause, it’s an emergency,” Bono said thousands of people die every day in Africa from preventable causes. He called upon the young people of today to make the fight for third-world relief their generation’s movement, much like the youth of the 1960s fought for civil rights in America. Pitt playfully blamed Bono for getting him involved in the effort,… Read more »

Has Maynard James Keenan, the frontman of both the dark, heavy-metal art band Tool and the somewhat lighter A Perfect Circle, found Jesus and been born again? Well… Recent postings on two Tool Web sites – one of them purportedly by Keenan himself – contend that the singer has found religion and has left Tool. Could this really be? On Tuesday afternoon (April 5), MTV News’ Kurt Loder e-mailed Keenan for confirmation, and this is what he e-mailed back: “I did, in fact, find Jesus. More news to follow. God bless ya.” Keenan’s letter to fan site toolshed.down.net explains that… Read more »

New York – Get ready for emo on “The O.C.” Creator Josh Schwartz told the April 8 issue of Entertainment Weekly that “the ultimate Bait Shop band will be performing.” He was referring to Death Cab for Cutie. Seth Cohen, played by Adam Brody, has been a fan of the guitar-driven indie-pop quartet since “The O.C.” began two years ago. Much of the band’s recent popularity has been attributed to mentions on the show. The Walkmen, The Killers and The Thrills are among the acts that have performed at the show’s fictional Newport Beach, Calif., rock venue. The episode is… Read more »

Nashville – Billboard reports that John Mellencamp will follow up a successful spring run in primarily secondary markets with a summer amphitheater tour with John Fogerty. The two rock artists’ approximately 40-date trek begins June 14 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and runs through Sept. 3 in Charlotte, N.C. Tickets for the summer tour go on sale April 23. Mellencamp’s spring run, which featured Donovan as support, wraps April 17 in Louisville. Mellencamp recently told Billboard an expensive summer tour was likely. “If I go out and I enjoy this, then I’ll continue,” he said. “If I go out and… Read more »

Drummer Derrick Plourde – a founding member of Southern California punk band Lagwagon – and Hideaki Sekiguchi – who slapped the bass for Tokyo garage-punk band Guitar Wolf – both died Wednesday, news that sent shockwaves throughout the underground punk rock world. Plourde was 33, and Sekiguchi was 38. Fat Wreck Chords, which released Lagwagon’s earliest material, confirmed Plourde’s death in a statement posted to the indie label’s Web site, which read, in part, “March 30th was a sad day for the Fat Wreck Chords family, as we learned about the passing of Derrick Plourde. We consider him one of… Read more »

San Diego – You know it was a powerful show if every single seat in the arena is still occupied by fans singing at the top of their lungs even after the band is done and the house lights go up. That was the scene Monday at the San Diego Sports Arena, where U2 kicked off their Vertigo Tour with a two-hour celebration of the new and the old and a few favorites in between, including a grand finale of “40” that felt more like the end of an Easter service than a rock concert the night after. “We haven’t… Read more »

Austin, Tx – There’s SXSW, the annual music biz spring break that’s been attracting talent from all over the world since 1987. Then, there’s the underground festival, not publicized as such, but the one where bands that didn’t achieve one of the chosen slots appear. This is the more interesting of the two. Merit certainly has nothing to do with who gets to appear at the more traditional festival. L.P., a NYC rocker with Marc Bolanesque curls and an amazing set of pipes is a glaring example of this. L.P.’s crafty manager Andrew Krents hustled a 3-night stand at the… Read more »

Veteran band protests about Justin Veteran R&B group the O’Jays protested about Justin Timberlake’s involvement in their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group were introduced by the 24-year-old singer at the ceremony at in New York. The O’Jays are best known for their disco 70s hits Love Train and Backstabbers. Eddie Levert, 62, said they were unhappy about Timberlake inducting them into the Hall. He said: “We protested, kicked and stomped. But it is out of our control.” His bandmate Walter Williams, 61, added: “No offence to Justin, because he deserves the respect he has… Read more »