Search Results for: against the current

Cleveland – Less than a year after rock band Sparta’s latest Geffen album, “Porcelain,” hit stores, singer/guitarist Jim Ward is feeling reflective about the past and rebellious about the future. “I felt like there was a momentum that for some reason has been lost,” Ward told Billboard.com. “I’m not a fan of looking back and saying what could have been. And to me, it’s really only about the music. I’ve never based anything on sales or success or how many people you play to or whatever, because I’ve seen different sides of that, and then they don’t equal happiness. “In… Read more »

Chris Cornell, prepare to get your transcendence on. Audioslave are hitting the road in support of their upcoming second album beginning April 14 in Las Vegas, and from sound of things, opening night can’t come soon enough for Cornell. “I can just go out onstage and get lost in the music and get lost in whatever it is I am doing and it becomes transcendent, and it is kind of addictive now,” the singer said Wednesday (March 16). “With Audioslave, I’ve really started to like the road a lot. There is a certain dedication and work ethic that the band… Read more »

Los Angeles – Nearly 45 years after Stevie Wonder’s live harmonica workout “Fingertips, Pt. 2” topped the charts, the soul visionary’s musical charm still enthralls. From preteen wunderkind to adult visionary, his musical evolution embodies a “What’s next?” curiosity that still burns brightly as fans anticipate his first new Motown album in 10 years, which he hopes will come out in April. “Hopefully, that little boy will always stay in me,” Wonder said in a recent interview with Billboard. “The part of me that’s still eager to discover; who welcomes new, unbroken ground. When that ground is being broken, there’s… Read more »

Billy Howerdel is usually the quiet giant in A Perfect Circle. Sure, the guitarist does most of the interviews, but frontman Maynard James Keenan has always been the band’s mouthpiece, even if he traditionally has been press-shy. With an important presidential election on the horizon, however, Howerdel is through keeping his thoughts to himself. “Ordinarily, I hate talking about politics,” he said. “I usually heed the warning of many elders that say, ‘Never discuss it with your friends, or certainly publicly,’ but it’s an important time to voice your opinions and feelings.” It’s hardly a secret which candidate A Perfect… Read more »

Record labels have historically invested significant financial resources toward new acts’ touring efforts, whether it be $20,000 for a regional van trek or $200,000 for a national bus outing. But in today’s world of shrinking revenue and tight budgets, tour support funds – though almost always recoupable against album sales – are becoming harder to come by. “There’s not as much money at any level, whether it’s signing bonuses, (recording) albums, tour support or anything else,” says Tim DuBois, senior partner of Nashville-based record label Universal South, home of such ascts as Pat Green and Joe Nichols. “But even in… Read more »

JUST days after the European launch of Apple Computers’ online music store, a chorus of customers are voicing their complaints. The lack of songs from artists on independent record labels – which account for a quarter of the UK market – has left iTunes looking like a poorly-stocked American import store, lacking local talent such as Travis and Franz Ferdinand. “Most Scottish acts are on independent labels,” says Alison Wenham, chairman and chief executive of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), which represents the majority of the UK’s indie labels. “Celtic acts typically start off very strong in their home… Read more »

Nine Inch Nails’ former manager John Malm has shot back at Trent Reznor, who filed a suit against him earlier this week seeking millions of dollars. Not only does Malm refute Reznor’s claim that he and former business manager/accountant Richard Szekelyi ripped off the rocker, he insists that Reznor actually owes him over $2 million in unpaid commissions. After numerous attempts to procure the payments, the manager sued Reznor in April, weeks before the suit against Malm and Szekelyi was filed. “Trent Reznor’s complete lack of loyalty and integrity is astounding,” Malm said in a statement. “After 20 years of… Read more »

A Canadian man accused of stalking Britney Spears has been arrested for a second time. Daniel J. Lachance was corralled Tuesday night after entering the Louisiana property of the pop star’s father, Jamie Spears. According to published reports, Lachance was unarmed and offered no resistance. The 25-year-old Canuck was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail Wednesday and charged with criminal trespassing and stalking. He’s being held on $150,000 bail. Lachance had previously been picked up by cops on Spears family property April 12 and was warned not to do it again. The alleged stalker was trying to track down the… Read more »

The attorney for Maverick Records has dismissed as “hogwash” a claim by Warner Music Group (WMG) that Madonna’s label has lost $66 million since 1999. WMG’s claim is the latest wrinkle in a spat with Maverick’s principals – Madonna and Guy Oseary – over the value of the label and who will control it after this year. WMG has an option to buy the 60% of Maverick it does not currently own when the labels’ joint-venture agreement expires Dec. 31. Maverick attorney Bert Fields says WMG is “stabbing Madonna in the back” by filing the claim in the middle of… Read more »

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a six-year-old theory that a Los Angeles Police officer orchestrated the 1997 shooting death of the Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) on orders from Death Row label head Suge Knight. The murder took place March 9, 1997, outside the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reports that the FBI is investigating the theory that Amir Muhammad, an associate of imprisoned former Los Angeles Police officer David A. Mack, ambushed the Notorious B.I.G. outside the museum while the rapper was seated in the passenger seat of his SUV. Muhammad, Mack, and… Read more »