Search Results for: The Aces

Since 1997, Rush drummer Neil Peart has been tight-lipped about the tragic deaths of his 19-year-old daughter Selena and wife Jackie, both of whom passed away within a 10-month period. Now he’s pouring out his heart about the pain and hopelessness he endured and the road he took to recovery in his new book, “Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road,” which is being published by Canada’s ECW Press. The book features new prose, text from journal entries and letters to friends, providing a personal and emotional day-by-day account of the 14 dark months that followed his wife’s death, and… Read more »

When Ozzy Osbourne was chiefly known in middle America for decapitating winged creatures and urinating on the Alamo, he and his annual hard rock hoedown were greeted with protests, boycotts and prayer meetings. But, oh, what a difference a year makes. The former most-feared man in rock has now become its most beloved father figure, courtesy of the rib-tickling warts-and-all series “The Osbournes.” So as he returns to the road for the first time since becoming the toast of prime time, Ozzy and Ozzfest 2002 are being greeted not with protests but with open arms, and at least a few… Read more »

Music fans weren’t quite ready to vacate “Nellyville” this week, as the sophomore album from St. Louis rapper Nelly stood strong against a heady debut from funk-punk foursome the Red Hot Chili Peppers and held on to the top spot for the third week running. Sales of “Nellyville” (Universal) slipped 24% to 340,000 units, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, but the album still managed to top 1.5 million in total sales after less than a month out. Fresh off that success, the hip-hop star is said to be planning a move into the TV world, starring in his… Read more »

Struggling media giant Vivendi Universal on Wednesday named Jacques Espinasse, head of a French satellite television channel, as its new chief financial officer. He replaces Guillaume Hannezo, who was retained on a six-month contract as a special adviser to Vivendi’s new chairman and chief executive officer, Jean-Renee Fourtou, the company said. Hannezo left his post less than a week ago. Espinasse, chief operation officer of French satellite television channel TPS, had been tipped as Hannezo’s most likely successor. He joins the company at a critical time. Debt-ridden Vivendi is negotiating a second round of short-term financing with its creditor banks,… Read more »

Authorities are investigating how cocaine and alcohol found in blood tests may have affected the pilot of a small plane that crashed in the Bahamas last year, killing nine people – including 22-year-old singer and actress Aaliyah. Aviation officials on Tuesday said an autopsy performed on Luis Antonio Morales Blanes showed he had cocaine in his urine and traces of alcohol in his stomach. The autopsy findings were released for the first time along with the crash investigation report, the Bahamas Department of Civil Aviation said. Investigators are trying to figure how out the substances may have affected the pilot… Read more »

In order to go into space, Lance Bass first has to go to sea. As part of his rigorous cosmonaut training, which the pop star finally started last week in Star City near Moscow, Bass will be dropped into the Black Sea in an emergency-splashdown test and left to fend for himself in a Russian forest without food or supplies. Though the Russian Space Agency has yet to confirm that Bass will be their candidate for a third seat open in a fall rocket mission, which is set to launch October 22, Bass started his preliminary training on July 4,… Read more »

OzzFest 2002 kicks off today (July 10) in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after the first two dates of the tour were postponed due to cancer surgery performed on tour mastermind Sharon Osbourne. This year’s festival faces heightened media scrutiny due to the unexpected success of the reality-based TV show The Osbournes. Sharon was asked if the show’s success will add to the success of this year’s OzzFest. “No, because it’s sold out for the last seven years, and it’s selling out this year,” she said. “So as far as Ozzy’s musical career, it’s as big as it ever has been. So, this… Read more »

Linkin Park’s Reanimation is one step closer to coming to life. The album, consisting mainly of new versions of tracks from the group’smultiplatinum 2000 debut, Hybrid Theory, has gone through the mastering stage, and a final track list has been settled upon, according to the band’s manager. The 20-track LP is due July 30. Linkin Park are the prototypical rap-rock hybrid (in fact, the group’s original name was Hybrid Theory), and Reanimation doesn’t do anything to change their stance on crossbreeding genres. While Hybrid Theory employed looped beats, scratching and other DJ techniques, courtesy of Joseph Hahn, Reanimation puts a… Read more »

An international media horde gathered Thursday at a remote Irish castle hotel, where the owner announced that Paul McCartney and his fiancee, Heather Mills, would have their wedding reception next week. “We are told vaguely it is next Tuesday, but it is all secret. I have to keep it dead-secret,” said Sir John Leslie, owner of Castle Leslie, an offbeat luxury hotel in County Monaghan bordering Northern Ireland. “They might do something at the last minute or change it. You never know.” Leslie, 84, sporting a green beret with a peacock feather, added that McCartney had visited the hotel last… Read more »

No wonder pop fans are singing the blues. Radio sounds like a broken record. CD prices are heading off the charts. Labels are out of tune with the digital age. New acts fail to strike a chord with listeners. It’s time to face the music. The $14 billion recording industry, struggling through its first sales slump in a decade, faces challenges on several fronts, not the least of which is a tarnished image in the eyes and ears of fans who feel ripped off by greedy, tone-deaf bean counters. In 2001, album sales dropped 2.8% compared with 2000, the first… Read more »