Search Results for: avril lavigne

Mullets, Chevelles, BMX bikes, muscle cars, cheesy mustaches. The science of guitar solos by White Lion and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt. These are ’80s things bands like Blink-182 like to poke fun at. Damone’s Dave Pino, however, isn’t laughing with them. “That whole mullet thing, American Hi-Fi and Sum 41 can goof on that stuff – the Camaro-driving guy with the mustache. It’s funny and I get it, but it’s offensive to us,” said Pino, the musical mastermind behind Waltham, Massachusetts, rockers Damone. “In this town, we’re stuck in some ’80s suburb,” Pino explained of the working- class Boston ‘burb of… Read more »

Proving that no one does Metallica better than Metallica, acts such as Sum 41, Limp Bizkit, Korn and Avril Lavigne gamely covered songs by the hard rock group at MTV’s annual tribute concert on Saturday while fans impatiently awaited a set by the honorees themselves. Playing in public for the first time with new bassist Rob Trujillo, Metallica ran through a fast and furious medley of songs, including “Creeping Death” and “Sanitarium,” before unveiling the speed-metal song “Frantic” from their upcoming album, “St. Anger.” Still a little rusty from a long layoff, Metallica performed “Frantic” twice after deciding that the… Read more »

The members of Metallica are the heroes of the day at San Quentin State Prison, one of the most infamous prisons in the United States. The hard rock quartet, preparing to release its new album “St. Anger” on June 10, is shooting a video for the title track at the prison on Wednesday, and will perform an hourlong concert the following day, the group said on its Web site (http://www.metclub.com). The video will be directed by the Malloy Brothers, who previously worked with 311 and Foo Fighters. The 150-year-old prison, just north of Metallica’s San Francisco home town, was the… Read more »

Nothing spices up a cheeky pop-punk act like a naughty double entendre. Avril Lavigne’s “Things I’ll Never Say” wouldn’t be quite as euphoric without the line, “I wanna blow you… away.” And who could forget Blink-182’s sort-of-dirty album title Take Off Your Pants and Jacket? English may not be Simple Plan’s first language (French is their native tongue), but they’ve got a firm grasp on how to use it to craft bathroom humor. Their debut album is called No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls, and on their latest hit, “Addicted,” the group snuck a swear word past the censors before… Read more »

The White Stripes’ much-heralded new album “Elephant” (XL Recordings) stampeded the U.K. chart on Sunday, going straight to No. 1, while “Make Luv” by Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham (Positiva) retained its place at the top of the singles chart. The singles survey also saw a new entry at No. 4 for Liverpool trio Atomic Kitten’s latest hit, “Love Doesn’t Have To Hurt” (Innocent/Virgin), and a No. 7 debut for Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You” (Arista). The only other top-20 debuts were Mario’s “Just a Friend” (J) at No. 18 and “Satisfaction” by Eve (Ruff Ryders) at No. 20. Last… Read more »

Bertelsmann said Monday it is seeking bids by the end of the week for its academic and professional publishing business, which the German media company intends to sell for about 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) to cut debt. Bertelsmann expects “at least half a dozen” bids for its BertelsmannSpringer unit, spokesman Oliver Herrgesell said. Berlin-based BertelsmannSpringer has 5,200 employees in 16 countries and publishes books, periodicals, databases as well as CD-ROMs in scientific and medical fields. Guetersloh-based Bertelsmann AG’s other divisions include music group BMG, whose labels have artists such as Avril Lavigne, Dave Mathews and Pink, Random House book… Read more »

Zomba Music Group, home to teen-pop powerhouse Jive Records, will be saying “bye, bye, bye” to as many as 350 employees out of its 1,800-strong global staff over the next nine months as part of its long-awaited integration into parent company Bertelsmann Music Group. The layoffs, which will be spread out evenly over the course of the year, are part of a larger effort to bring Zomba’s stable of imprints – including Jive, Verity, Silvertone and Volcano – into the major-label group’s worldwide infrastructure. From a brand standpoint, Zomba will remain very much independent from BMG, with major imprints and… Read more »

The debut album from Montreal pop-punk band Simple Plan has been certified gold this week in the U.S. “No Pads, No Helmets?Just Balls” has sold more than 500,000 copies since its release last year on Lava Records. This year, the band has reached international fame, playing on 5 continents and performing over 300 shows. They’ve already gone gold in Canada and Japan. But there’s no slowing down in sight for Pierre Bouvier (vocals); Chuck Comeau (drums); David Desrosiers (bass, vocals); Sebastien Lefebvre (guitar, vocals) and Jeff Stinco (guitar). Simple Plan will play some dates on the Warped Tour and Avril… Read more »

If the variety of producers she’s working with is any indication, Britney Spears’ next record will be her most adventurous yet. Sure, mainstays Rodney Jerkins and the Neptunes are again logging time with the pop princess, but she has also recorded with Ashanti producer 7 Aurelius and the Matrix, the production team behind Avril Lavigne’s hit singles. And don’t forget Fred Durst. Both 7, who also worked on the latest Tupac album, and the Matrix have done three tracks with Spears and are hoping to do more. “I’m doing something for her, something really ridiculous. [A] record I’m going to… Read more »

In a year fraught with political turmoil, turbulence and insecurity, music fans turned to their favorite songs to take them away from many of their problems and help them come to terms with others that were impossible to escape. Whether it was Eminem rapping, “Lose yourself in the music,” or Bruce Springsteen singing, “Come on up for the rising/ Come on up, lay your hands in mine,” the messages of unity were universal. At the 45th annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday (February 23) at New York’s Madison Square Garden, apolitical hedonists and social activists alike rallied together to celebrate the… Read more »