Search Results for: The Aces

New York – Bono is now another type of frontman: U2’s lead singer – and most recognizable face – is charged with raising awareness and interest in the new fashion brand Edun. The casual collection of jeans, T-shirts, chiffon dresses and shrunken blazers is Bono’s brainchild. He’s out there promoting it (most recently at a launch party at Manhattan’s flagship Saks Fifth Avenue) and he’s wearing it, showing off his Edun jeans paired with his signature wraparound sunglasses. “I’m here to try to get the sound on the radio, if you know what I mean,” Bono says. He joins scores… Read more »

Anyone who thought that Epitaph Records passed their heyday when Rancid and NOFX split for new pastures would have been wide-eyed surprised on this evening. Kudos to the keepers of the punk rock flag for progressing with the times and developing – yet again – into a leader of the pack. They used to lead the way in the likes of skate-punk and crust, but as the plethora of pre-teens proved, punk rock still hasn’t kicked the bucket. It’s just changed boots. Kicking off the show, new label additions Scatter The Ashes dealt a relatively heavy blow with their brand… Read more »

New York – Rap star Lil’ Kim testified at her federal perjury trial on Thursday, telling jurors she was bullied by prosecutors when she allegedly lied to a grand jury about a 2001 shootout. “I was a victim (of the shooting),” said Lil’ Kim, a former sidekick of the late Notorious B.I.G. “I couldn’t believe I was being badgered the way I was.” Wearing a lacy peach dress beneath a white blazer, the 4-foot-11 Grammy winner frequently turned in the direction of jurors, flashed broad smiles and dropped names of famous artists she’s worked with. She was admonished by the… Read more »

Washington – Bono won’t be saving the world at the helm of the World Bank. The lobby group co-founded by the Irish band U2’s lead singer on Thursday knocked down media reports that he was a serious contender to head the global institution that provides billions of dollars annually to help the world’s poorest countries. “I can’t believe I need to say this, but there are no circumstances in which Bono would be nominated or accept the World Bank job,” said Jamie Drummond, executive director of DATA – or Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa – for which Bono campaigns to raise… Read more »

New York – Out with the old, in with the new: Nickelback has a new drummer. Daniel Adair will take the sticks for the band, Nickelback announced Friday. The former 3 Doors Down drummer replaces Ryan Vikedal, who departed in late January. “We are thrilled to have Daniel in the band and excited about the creativity that is going on between the four of us in the studio,” singer Chad Kroeger said in a statement. Nickelback received a Grammy nomination earlier this year for best hard rock performance on “Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good” from the album “The Long Road.”… Read more »

Los Angeles – Rock band 3 Doors Down earned its first No. 1 on the U.S. pop albums chart Wednesday with its latest CD, “Seventeen Days.” The Republic/Universal release sold 231,000 copies in the week ended Feb. 13, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the best sales week of the band’s career. The Mississippi-bred combo’s previous high came with 2002’s “Away From the Sun,” which opened and peaked at No. 8 with 115,000 and has sold 3.3 million to date. 2000’s debut “The Better Life” has sold 5.2 million copies so far. Previous champ, rapper the Game’s “The Documentary” (Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope), slipped to… Read more »

Maybe you can blame it on some indie-minded guilt. On March 1, Death Cab for Cutie – longtime independent stalwarts recently inked to Atlantic Records – will drop The John Byrd EP, the final release for them on tiny Seattle label Barsuk Records. The EP will only be available in two places: on Barsuk’s Web site or in record stores who are members of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. It could be the result of a guilty conscience. But it’s more than likely not. “We just wanted to have a properly recorded live record out there, because bootlegs show… Read more »

Los Angeles – Welcome to the best sales week of this still-young 2005. Contributing to this buoyant frame are historic chart accomplishments by Tina Turner, the fastest start for the 10-year-old “Grammy Nominees” line of releases and, nestled between those two albums, a not-too-motley week for Motley Crue. Album volume for the week stands at 11.4 million, and 6.9 million of those units sold were current titles. Both figures are high-water marks for the year. The volume of digital tracks, which slipped to less than 5 million last week for the first time since the week ending Dec. 19, is… Read more »

Washington – Eleven years after the demise of his million-selling rock band Nirvana, Krist Novoselic is back on the road, but this time he’s getting out of bed before noon. Novoselic, whose bass guitar anchored one of the most popular and influential bands of the 1990s, now spends his time pushing for voting reforms that he thinks could change the cynicism many people feel about U.S. politics. It’s a gig that requires him to wear a suit and tie and speak to audiences that measure in the dozens, rather than the thousands. But Novoselic, 39, sees parallels with the heady… Read more »

New York – At a time when reality and youth lifestyle shows – not videos – dominate MTV’s main programming hours, the network is looking to music-related contests, tour sponsorships and other off-channel marketing initiatives to drive its identity as a music brand. Case in point: MTV in February is sending eight contest winners on a private island getaway with Columbia Records act Destiny’s Child in a stunt it is billing as Destiny’s Isle. The promotion – which MTV has been plotting since last August and was aggressively promoting last fall – will culminate with clips from an afternoon meeting… Read more »