Search Results for: Rock am Ring

BROOKLYN, New York – What does Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig have in common with Sting and Gene Simmons? It’s definitely not a shared sense of style. But like Sting and Simmons, the cardigan-and-Top-Sider-sporting 23-year-old spent a year as the antithesis of the flashy, rule-breaking rock star: a teacher. Before belting out tunes like “Oxford Comma” and “A Punk” in front of sold-out crowds and landing on the cover of Spin – along with bassist Chris Baio, keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and drummer Chris Tomson – Koenig was juggling band practice and performances with a day job as an eighth-grade teacher… Read more »

Tapping on fake instruments and screeching into microphones connected to video game consoles has become lucrative for both the music and gaming industries. Downloadable tunes for music-based games “Guitar Hero,” “Rock Band” and “SingStar” have become as vital as iTunes itself – and one of the last ways to expose youngsters to classic rock. The genre will evolve again later this month when game publisher Activision and developer Neversoft release “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith,” the first such play-along rhythm game pegged to one music group, instead of featuring a multi-artist compilation more akin to one of those “Now That’s What I… Read more »

One hundred acts on 700 acres can mean only one thing. It’s time for Bonnaroo, dude. The four-day festival of music, art, movies and comedy kicks off on Thursday in Manchester, Tenn., and promises a musical experience designed to please, well, almost everyone who likes music, laughter and $7 showers. Launched in 2002, the festival was largely a gathering of jam bands in the beginning, but has expanded its reach over the years to include performances by Radiohead, the Police and a diverse mix of artists spanning a range of genres. And since the word “bonnaroo” is said to be… Read more »

As the recorded music business seemingly careens toward oblivion, John Hiatt is standing on the sidelines having a good laugh. It’s not as if the singer-songwriter has been unscathed by the industry’s decade-long capitulation to piracy. Each of his last three albums sold 30,000 copies less than the one before. His last release, 2005’s “Master of Disaster,” moved 78,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But as he sagely pointed out during a recent breakfast, “I think I’m not the only one. I think we’re doing OK.” That very day his 18th album, “Same Old Man” (New… Read more »

Rocker David Cook won the coveted title of “American Idol” on Wednesday, dealing an unexpected but decisive defeat to a silken-voiced teenager, also named David, on the most popular U.S. television show. Cook, 25, who was tending bar and playing in a band before he auditioned for the singing competition, stood back to applaud rival David Archuleta, 17, and then bent over crying after host Ryan Seacrest said he had won by 12 million votes. “This is amazing. Thank you,” said the Blue Springs, Missouri, native, who in addition to being crowned this year’s “Idol” will receive a recording contract.… Read more »

Motley Crue is taking a page from the Ozzy Osbourne playbook by launching its own touring hard-rock festival, the band said on Tuesday. Crue Fest, whose roster also includes Grammy-nominated acts Buckcherry and Papa Roach, will kick off in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 1, and take in 41 cities across United States and Canada. The amphitheater trek will help the band promote its autobiographical new album “Saints of Los Angeles,” which is due in stores on June 17. Singer Vince Neil, bass player Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars and drummer Tommy Lee performed the title track, as well… Read more »

New York rock band Interpol will return to duty this summer for a run of European and North American festival dates, beginning July 3 in Norway. The trek will likely be the last in support of the band’s 2007 album, “Our Love To Admire,” before it gets busy on its next album. The only North American date confirmed so far is the Pemberton Festival in British Columbia on July 26. “We didn’t really do much of the summer festivals last year,” drummer Sam Fogarino told Billboard.com. “It will be the last hit-it-home, end-on-a-good note.” The new album, its first for… Read more »

The personal assistant charged in the beating death of real estate agent and punk rock pioneer Linda Stein was denied bail Wednesday even though the defense argued new DNA evidence justified it. Stein’s blood was spattered around her Manhattan penthouse after she was bludgeoned to death in October, but not a drop was found on the clothes of Natavia Lowery, 26, who is charged with second-degree murder, her attorney said. Male DNA also was mingled with Stein’s blood in a bathroom sink – suggesting her killer was a man, not the female assistant, Ronald Kuby argued while about 100 people… Read more »

Michael Roberts: For all of the articles that have been written about you guys, very few of them have very much biographical information. It’s as if you were born at Columbia when you were twenty. So I thought I’d try getting some actual facts. Where are you from originally? Ezra Koenig: Well, originally, I was born in New York. My parents lived on the Upper West Side. But I have no memory of living here, because I almost totally grew up in Northern New Jersey, in the suburbs of New York. MR: Tell me about your parents. What jobs did… Read more »