Search Results for: The Aces

New York – New York’s legendary rock club CBGB, which helped launch everybody from Blondie to the Ramones, faces closure if it does not resolve a dispute over unpaid rent with the homeless charity that owns the building. Club owner Hilly Kristal said the dispute dated from 2001, when the landlord presented a $300,000 bill for unpaid rent. Though most of that has now been repaid, the club was handed another bill earlier this year for $76,000 which CBGB has not paid. The club’s lease comes to an end in August and talks on renewal are stalled. “The real thing… Read more »

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The bodyguard for country singer Gretchen Wilson was charged Tuesday night with unlawful weapons possession while she was at the Country Music Association’s awards show. Police said they found at least four weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the sport utility vehicle belonging to Daniel Lee Rhoades, 38, of Olive Branch, Miss. Officers said Rhoades also was carrying a 9 mm pistol and retractable police baton. At the time the vehicle was found in a parking lot, Rhoades was with Wilson at the nearby Grand Ole Opry House where the show was being held. Rhoades… Read more »

So the FCC wouldn’t let him be, wouldn’t let him be he…and now Eminem is making the move to satellite radio. On Monday, the Grammy-winning rapper announced his plans to team up with Sirius Satellite Radio to “deliver an uncut hip-hop radio station like never before” beginning this fall. “Once upon a time not too long ago, the feds wanted all my music off the air,” Eminem said in a statement. “Now we’ll be on Sirius 24 hours a day, playing the best hip-hop…not just from Shady Records, but from everywhere. “I can’t wait to start dropping new material, exclusive… Read more »

U.S. shock rocker Marilyn Manson is the target of a criminal inquiry in Switzerland, after a religious group made a formal complaint about his stage act. Zurich District Prosecutor Michael Scherrer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the artist was under investigation for allegedly breaching Swiss law protecting religion as well as making incitements to violence during a concert in the city in February 2001. Manson – whose real name is Brian Warner – and his band members take their first names from pop culture icons and their surnames from famous serial killers. He also uses the sobriquet “Antichrist… Read more »

Linkin Park’s planned concert in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur is being protested by an Islamist opposition group. The group called Parti Islam se-Malaysia says the band’s presence could contribute to moral decay within the youth of the country. They have urged the government to overturn its previous decision to let the band play. Linkin Park is scheduled to perform at the city’s 50,000-seat Merdeka Stadium on October 15. The band must adhere to a strict code of “performance ethics” that includes the following restrictions: “Male artists must cover their bodies from the chest to knee level…the artist must… Read more »

R.E.M. has posted video footage of the band rehearsing for their current world tour on their official website, remhq.com. The video was recently shot at the band’s studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Those who visit remhq.com will be able to see R.E.M. perform four songs, including “She Just Wants To Be,” “Walk Unafraid,” “Get Up,” and “Maps And Legends”-which dates back to the band’s third album, 1985’s Fables And Reconstruction. R.E.M. is currently touring in Europe. The North American leg begins August 29 in Vancouver.

EMI Group, home to stars from the Rolling Stones to Norah Jones, came under more pressure to find a suitor on Wednesday after its debt was slashed to “junk,” sending its shares to their lowest level in more than 10 years. EMI, the world’s third-largest music company, saw its stock slump 13 percent after Moody’s slashed its debt below investment grade late on Tuesday on concerns about the weak outlook for the music industry, stoking fears about the group’s profits and dividend. Faced with an increasingly gloomy outlook, EMI has been in talks in recent months with two rivals –… Read more »

Songwriters and music publishers have filed a $17 billion lawsuit against German media giant Bertelsmann AG, claiming that their investment in Napster constitutes copyright infringement. The case was filed late Wednesday in U.S District Court of New York. Plaintiffs in the suit include songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, whose hits include “Hound Dog” and “Stand by Me,” and music publisher Peer International Corp. Of note is that the lawsuit is seeking class-action status for other music publishers represented by the Harry Fox Agency. If this were to happen, BMG Music Publishing, which is a division of Bertelsmann, would… Read more »

Britain’s latest manufactured pop groups were forced to hold back their tears Wednesday after promoters canceled their debut 11-night “Popstars” tour. Boy band One True Voice and their chart-topping female rivals Girls Aloud had been due to begin the two weeks of arena concerts on March 1. Concert promoter Triple A Entertainments and Granada, the producers of the “Popstars” television show, both declined to comment on why the tour was canceled. Media reports suggested tickets had not been selling, but a spokeswoman for the London Arena, where the bands were due to play on March 3, said ticket sales had… Read more »

Boy-band hitmaker Lou Pearlman is the target of a state probe into complaints that hundreds of aspiring models and actors were duped into paying up to $1,500 each for spots on his company’s Web site. Clients say they were led to believe that Pearlman’s company, Trans Continental Talent Inc., would help them find work – not just post their pictures online. The investigation, which began in August, has turned up “hundreds of potential violations” but no one who actually landed a job through the company, Assistant Attorney General Jackie Dowd said. Pearlman, best known for launching the Backstreet Boys and… Read more »