Search Results for: Scene Queen

America’s country music scene isn’t exactly known for its gay artists, but a colorful pack of wanna-be stars pulled out their best rustic twangs and wailing guitars on Thursday to try to change all that. Scores of country music hopefuls auditioned in New York for what is being billed as a television show to pick an openly gay country music star from about 50 contestants. The musicians – most of whom wore jeans and spit-polished boots – wailed through Willie Nelson songs, crooned like Lyle Lovett and belted out ballads like Garth Brooks. Livening up the day was The Dixie… Read more »

Ticket sales are down, and big tours are scaling back to smaller venues. It looks to be a long, hot summer for the touring industry. On the cusp of the industry’s peak period, a number of high-profile tours and festivals have already hit snags, among them highly touted outings from Mariah Carey, the Field Day Music Festival, Lollapalooza, and Beck and Dashboard Confessional. Faced with a crowded tour market combined with high ticket prices, permit hassles, a sluggish economy and poor buzz, these tours and a handful of others have either had to scale back the size of the venues… Read more »

Jam Master Jay, a founding member of the pioneering rap trio Run DMC, was shot and killed at his recording studio near the New York neighborhood where he grew up, police said. Two men were buzzed into the second-floor studio shortly before shots were fired inside its lounge at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, police said. As of early Thursday, police had made no arrests. The 37-year-old disc jockey, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was shot once in the head in the studio’s lounge and died at the scene, said Detective Robert Price, a police spokesman. Urieco Rincon, 25, who… Read more »

Dee Dee Ramone, a founding member of punk pioneers the Ramones, died Wednesday night in his Hollywood home, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. The bassist was 50 Ramone (born Douglas Glenn Colvin) was found unresponsive by his wife around 8:40 p.m. She called police, and fire department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. A coroner’s office spokesperson said the case will be treated as a possible accidental drug overdose. Investigators found a syringe and other drug paraphernalia on Ramone’s kitchen counter. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday (June 6). Dee Dee formed the… Read more »

Dee Dee Ramone, a founding member of punk pioneers the Ramones, died Wednesday night in his Hollywood home, according to a spokesperson for the L.A. County Coroner’s office. The bassist was 50. Ramone (born Douglas Glenn Colvin) was found unresponsive by his wife at approximately 8:40 p.m. PT. She then called the Los Angeles Police Department, and L.A. City Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. A cause of death is yet to be determined by the coroner, whose spokesperson said the case will be worked as a possible accidental drug overdose. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday… Read more »

British music industry svengali Dave Stewart is launching a new record label to nurture acts left out in the cold by the mass-produced pop phenomenon. Stewart told BBC radio Wednesday that the big five record labels were overlooking significant talent in their bid to mass-produce fashionable hits. “We’re approaching it completely from a different way,” said Stewart, who hopes to shake up the big players with his new label Artists’ Network. Stewart produced the 1980s hit “Sweet Dreams” together with Eurythmics co-star Annie Lennox who performed at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations Monday. Artists’ Network, will hit the music scene… Read more »

Rockers want to act, actors want to rock. What are you gonna do? For musicians who lack thespian aspirations, though, scoring a movie seems to suffice. Following in the footsteps of everyone from Bob Dylan and Jon Bon Jovi to Björk and Peter Gabriel, bandleaders Jonathan Davis, Billy Corgan and Jeff Tweedy and solo act Badly Drawn Boy are scoring some points with the Hollywood crowd this summer. Korn singer Davis teamed up with film scoring veteran and ex-Oingo Boingo keyboardist Richard Gibbs for the soundtrack to “Queen of the Damned,” released earlier this year. The pair co-wrote and performed… Read more »

While Alice in Chains – whose singer, Layne Staley, was found dead Friday – influenced an incalculable number of bands, perhaps no one echoes their legacy like Godsmack. From Tony Rambola’s jarring bursts of guitar to Sully Erna’s angry, impassioned vocal delivery, Godsmack have sonically followed Alice in Chains’ lead while adding their own distinctive edge. To Erna, Staley was more than just part of the grunge foundation on which bands like Godsmack, Creed, Tantric and Puddle of Mudd built their sound. The Alice in Chains singer’s raw urgency vaulted the former drummer front and center before one of today’s… Read more »

With a platinum debut album on their resume, Chicago nü-metal powerhouse Disturbed could have hired almost anyone to produce their second disc. Instead, they returned to Johnny K, who worked on the band’s 2000 LP, The Sickness. Disturbed entered the K’s Groovemaster Studios in Chicago last weekend to begin recording their second album, Believe, which is scheduled for release in September, the band’s publicist said. The record will include “Prayer,” which the band premiered on last year’s Ozzfest, and about 10 other songs that were mostly written since November. Once the album is completed, knob-twisting guru Andy Wallace (System of… Read more »

Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis will not appear on the soundtrack to the forthcoming movie Queen Of The Damned due to a stipulation in his contract with Epic Records, which prevents him from working for other labels. To solve the problem, Davis and Warner Bros., the label which is putting out the movie’s soundtrack, have assembled various stars of today’s alternative music scene to cover the five tunes, which Davis sings in the movie as the voice of the Lestat character. Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington, Disturbed vocalist David Draiman, and Static X singer Wayne Static are set to lend vocals… Read more »