Search Results for: You Me At Six

Even when adopting the most drastic measures, record labels seem helpless to prevent albums from surfacing online before their release dates. So now one label is taking the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach. Four months before the debut album by New York trio the Secret Machines hits stores, Reprise Records, a Warner Bros. subsidiary, is making it available for sale online. In a campaign tied to Reprise’s online marketing campaign, the label is trying to make sure fans have a legal way of acquiring new music they hear about on the Internet. “[When] there’s no legal alternative,… Read more »

Here’s one “guitar greats” list that Jimi Hendrix did not top: “the 100 greatest metal guitarists of all time.” According to Guitar World magazine, the No. 1 metal guitarist is Tony Iommi, the God-fearing axeman with pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Six musicians claimed the next four spots: Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett tied at No. 2; AC/DC siblings Angus and Malcolm Young at No. 3; Randy Rhoads, the late sideman for Ozzy Osbourne, at No. 4; and Eddie Van Halen, of the foursome that bears his name, at No. 5. Hendrix was No. 12, six places… Read more »

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know – we all want to change the world. Except for Chris Colus. He’s the drummer for a reggae-roots-rock band, freshly signed to a major record label, and he’s trying to explain that band’s name, which is O.A.R. – Of A Revolution. “There’s no political motive,” the 25-year-old Rockville, MD native insists. “This is the music we’ve wanted to play, the music we wanted to hear – that’s a revolution for ourselves and our fans.” The “Of A Revolution” name actually comes from “The Wanderer,” a short story singer-guitarist Marc Roberge wrote… Read more »

Their last recording had a budget of about $300. Still, Toronto duo Death From Above managed to use that small sum to create an aural masterpiece that led to worldwide attention and a tour across the Great White North with Billy Talent andAlexisonfire. It was probably the best three bills the band ever spent. And now they’ve got a solid grand – $1,000 – burning a hole in their pockets. You can just imagine how giddy bassistJesse F. Keeler and drummer/singer Sebastien Grainger must be as they gear up to record an 11-song full-length. “Considering what we spent with the… Read more »

Ben Kweller and producer Ethan Johns took a trip back in time in recording Kweller’s third solo release, On My Way. Johns encouraged the twentysomething pop phenom to cut his latest album in classic garage rock manner: guitars, bass and drums played live in the studio with no headphones and minimal post-production. Johns’ recording of the eleven-song set, due April 6th, captures some live-wire vocals from Kweller as well as his inspired guitar interplay with Mike Stroud (formerly of Dashboard Confessional), which echoes that of Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Danny Whitten circa 1969. Kweller was introduced to the producer… Read more »

In mid-December, Disturbed announced that original bassist Fuzz had left the band after more than six years, and posted a message on their Web site telling musicians how to apply for the vacant slot. Frontman David Draiman is currently narrowing down the field of interested players and plans to bring four to six of them to Chicago in February for tryouts. Fuzz’s departure from Disturbed was a long time coming, according to Draiman. “I don’t want to drag anyone through the mud, there were just personality conflicts,” Draiman explained, breaking over a month of silence. “It wasn’t a relationship that… Read more »

Toronto indie institution By Divine Right may have been around for damn near a decade in one incarnation or another, but they had to go to the other side of the world to get the lovin’ they deserve. The band recently embarked on a tour of northern China where they were given the full royal rock treatment. “We ate awesome fucking food there,” says mainman Jose Contreras. “They took us out for a banquet every day. For lunch – 30 dishes. For dinner – 40. And they got us completed loaded. After four or five days, I had to tell… Read more »

Hot off the heels of two platinum albums and a sold out US tour, the members of R&B/Hip-Hop super-group B2K have parted ways. B2K’s Omarion, Lil Fizz, J-Boog and Raz have broken up after six years together. B2K’s hit singles include “Bump, Bump Bump” featuring Sean “Puffy” Combs, “Girlfriend” and “Gots Ta Be.” The group has received a bevy of awards, nominations and accolades including American Music Awards, MTV, BET, Billboard Music and Soul Train Award wins and nominations. Rumors have been speculating a breakup inside the B2K camp for some time now. Disagreements amongst the quartet are the reason… Read more »

When Benji Madden asked to borrow an acoustic guitar from a friend, he got more than he bargained for. Not only did he wind up with the guitar in his possession, but an entire band to go with it. So goes the story of New York’s Lola Ray, the second band signed to D.C. Flag, the record label founded by Good Charlotte’s Benji and Joel Madden. When Benji phoned friend Peter Robinson for a spare guitar to play an impromptu acoustic show, Robinson’s friend John Balicanta came along for the ride and managed to hand Benji a demo tape. The… Read more »

Although industry-wide album sales were down from the same weeks of last year in the two stanzas prior to Christmas, an extra gift-shopping day during the holiday frame closed 2003 on an up note. With the holiday shifting back a day, from Wednesday in 2002 to Thursday, album sales are up a whopping 20.6% over the same week of the prior year. The final week’s splurge more than compensates for the 5.8% deficit seen the week before the Christmas frame or the 0.5% gap of the year’s 50th week. Further, the 31.3 million album units sold during this Christmas shopping… Read more »