Search Results for: Rock am Ring

It’s been 2-1/2 years since the Island Def Jam Music Group acquired a 50% stake in Roadrunner Records. However, the longtime rock-metal independent label still feels like an indie despite its major label parent, president Jonas Nachsin says. “In terms of the Roadrunner’s indie spirit, I don’t think we’ve lost any of that,” Nachsin says. “When the partnership was done, I think the first thing that was decided was not to do anything, which was a very sage and important game plan because when something is working, the last thing you want to do is start to mess with it.”… Read more »

All-American Rejects are itching for new tunes. The Oklahoma rockers’ self-titled debut was released by Dreamworks in January, but it’s really almost a year-and-a-half old, having been first released last fall by indie Doghouse Records. “We’ve got some new stuff going on,” says guitarist Nick Wheeler. “We’re totally stoked on doing a new album.” More than half of the new album is already in demo form or in the head of frontman Tyson Ritter. “He comes up with the melody and the basic chord structure, and then I’ll come in and do the music-theory, geeky shit to it,” Wheeler says.… Read more »

The Offspring has announced the name of their new drummer. He’s Atom Willard, formerly of the punk act Rocket From The Crypt. Willard will appear with the band on their fall tour, with dates to be announced soon. Original drummer Ron Welty departed the Offspring earlier this year to devote more time to other projects. The new Offspring album, titled Splinter, arrives on December 2. Welty left before the band began recording Splinter, so the drums on the album were handled by A Perfect Circle’s Josh Freese, who has also played drums on albums by Evanescence, Staind, Puddle Of Mudd,… Read more »

Kid Rock, Justin Timberlake, Shania Twain, Luther Vandross, Celine Dion, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Missy Elliott and Sean Paul are among the artists receiving multiple nominations for the American Music Awards (AMAs). “American Idol” second-season runner-up Clay Aiken also received his first awards show nod, with a nomination for favorite pop/rock male artist. The AMAs, which present 20 awards in eight musical genres, will be held Nov. 16 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and televised live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will host the three-hour show. Winners are selected by a poll of 20,000 music fans. There are actually two… Read more »

The Island Def Jam Music Group has signed multi-platinum recording artist, Everlast, it was announced today. Everlast is currently in the studio working on his third studio album (Title: TBD) tentatively set for an early 2004 release. The album, which is being recorded in L.A. and NYC, features Everlast co-executive producing with longtime friend and collaborator Dante Ross. “I am excited to be part of the Island Def Jam family,” says Everlast. “I look forward to a long lasting relationship with Island Def Jam that will result in much success over the years to come.” “Everlast is an incredible artist… Read more »

George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne are among those who’ve made the list of nominees for the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot, a hall of fame spokesperson confirmed Monday. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria for consideration include “the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll,” according to the organization. Several names that have not made the hall before are back for another try, including the Sex Pistols, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, country rock legend Gram Parsons,… Read more »

This news is either going to ease Prince and John Mellencamp’s possible midlife crises, or agitate them: They’re nominees for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The late George Harrison and Jackson Browne are other first-timers on the ballot determining the hall’s class of 2004. Others looking to gain admittance to the Cleveland-based mecca after coming up short in previous voting, include: Punk pioneers the Sex Pistols; Ozzy Osbourne’s first family, Black Sabbath; “Freebird” purveyors Lynyrd Skynyrd; ZZ Top, the bearded rockers who were once MTV’s unlikeliest video stars; and poet/rocker Patti Smith. Nominees become eligible for… Read more »

The week the music industry brought suit against 261 users of Internet file-sharing services, Donald L. McCabe was in St. Louis to talk about a different form of digital copying. Mr. McCabe, a Rutgers University professor, has made a career of studying the cheating of American high school and college students. His most recent study found that cheating was spreading almost like file-sharing. Of more than 18,000 students surveyed, 38 percent said they had lifted material from the Internet for use in papers in the last year. More striking to Mr. McCabe, 44 percent said they considered this sampling no… Read more »

It’s OK with Nickelback if you want to call them a pop group. In fact, pop doesn’t begin to describe the Canadian quartet’s third album, “The Long Road.” The Roadrunner set, arguably the most-anticipated global rock release of the year, is due Sept. 23 in North America and a day earlier in the rest of the world. “Somewhere along the line, people turned pop – as in ‘popular’ – into a dirty word,” says Chad Kroeger, leader of the hard-rocking band. “We want to reach the widest audience possible and let everyone know who we are. Korn, Tool and Slipknot… Read more »

Anyone who even slightly follows ChartAttack’s music coverage should know by know that A Perfect Circle is probably one of the most impressive “super bands” this side of Blind Faith. Heh heh… Blind Faith being “super.” Now there’s a gag! So, with the introduction of ex-Smashing Pumpkin James Iha to the fold hot on the heels of Jeordie “Twiggy Ramirez” White taking up bass duties (as former APC bassist Paz Lenchantin moved to Billy Corgan’s Zwan… inbreeding?) how does APC brainchild Billy Howerdel feel the shift went? “I couldn’t have asked for a smoother transition,” he says. “And without trying… Read more »