Search Results for: decade

Ticket sales are down, and big tours are scaling back to smaller venues. It looks to be a long, hot summer for the touring industry. On the cusp of the industry’s peak period, a number of high-profile tours and festivals have already hit snags, among them highly touted outings from Mariah Carey, the Field Day Music Festival, Lollapalooza, and Beck and Dashboard Confessional. Faced with a crowded tour market combined with high ticket prices, permit hassles, a sluggish economy and poor buzz, these tours and a handful of others have either had to scale back the size of the venues… Read more »

The time has come. A fact’s a fact. Peter Garrett’s quit Midnight Oil and he’s not going back. But his name could yet appear on an election ballot paper. The musical maestro and conservationist today spoke for the first time about life after Midnight Oil, since quitting as the band’s frontman last year. He had close to three decades of living his vision to write strong songs about national issues, and the days of trekking around the pub scene are gone. He told the National Press Club today that his musical career had begun in the national capital, “touring pubs… Read more »

With ice on both ears, Justin Timberlake set out to prove that on his own he can accomplish the mission that was set for ‘NSYNC – to generate a little respect for pop. On Wednesday, the crowd at the sold-out America West Arena turned the venue into a balls-out dance club for the opening night of Timberlake and Christina Aguilera’s Justified and Stripped Tour. The fans, most of whom were women in their late teens and early 20s, screamed at Justin and Christina’s every move and word. Aguilera’s set began with images of her on a video screen showing her… Read more »

When her new album, Hotel Paper, hits stores June 24, Michelle Branch wants you to remember what Aaliyah said almost a decade ago: Age ain’t nothing but a number. “I just want [people] to actually listen to the record and, I guess, give me a chance,” the 19-year-old singer said recently. “I don’t know, younger artists, people kind of write us off as being this novelty kind of thing, and people forget that George Harrison was 17 when he was in the Beatles, U2 was my age… the Rolling Stones, everyone. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it shouldn’t… Read more »

With anticipation building to a feverish pitch in advance of the imminent release of the eagerly awaited Led Zeppelin live recordings, Atlantic Records has announced that “LED ZEPPELIN DVD,” a 2-DVD set, will be shipping quadruple-platinum in the U.S. alone, and “HOW THE WEST WAS WON,” a 3-CD set, will ship platinum. “The enormous pre-release response from retailers and fans alike to the announcement of these Zeppelin releases dramatically demonstrates the enduring power, timeless influence, and undiminished popularity of this truly phenomenal band,” said Atlantic Group Co-Chairman/CEO Val Azzoli. “To have been associated with Zeppelin for their entire career has… Read more »

The Osbournes are looking for a new home. No, rock’s first family aren’t packing up and moving out of their Beverly Hills abode. It’s the search for a new label home for Kelly and Ozzy that has the clan pounding the pavement. Both father and daughter are leaving Sony Music, according to an Osbournes spokesperson. Although Kelly has only been with Sony subsidiary Epic since releasing her debut, Shut Up!, in late November, Ozzy has had a home at Sony Music for decades, since first going solo in 1980 with Blizzard of Ozz, released by the now defunct Jet imprint.… 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 »

Nearly two years after it sued Napster into submission, the recording industry has discovered it’s not enough to try to beat Internet music purveyors whose digital distribution techniques allow copyright violations. It also has to join them. To discourage piracy, the multibillion-dollar industry has in recent months moved beyond lawsuits against file-swapping services. It has employed hacker tactics to flood such sites with bogus files and even taken to suing students who created mini-Napsters on college networks. At the same time, however, the music labels have finally embraced the very online distribution model many had long resisted, one that analysts… Read more »

Jack Osbourne, the 17-year-old son of heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne, has checked into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic, according to magazine reports. “I got caught up in my new lifestyle and got carried away with drugs and alcohol,” Osbourne told People magazine, which reported he entered Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena on April 23. “Once I realized this, I voluntarily checked myself into a detox facility for my own health and well-being.” A publicist for the Osbourne family did not immediately return calls seeking comment Tuesday. Kelly Osbourne, Jack’s 18-year-old sister, told Us Weekly magazine that her brother… Read more »

Double duty wasn’t necessarily what new Voivod member (and recently announced Ozzy Osbourne bassist) Jason Newsted had in mind when he left Metallica over two years ago, but that’s exactly what he’ll be doing this summer as Voivod and Ozzy play Ozzfest 2003. Despite the need for two sets of everything (clothes, amps, etc.), Newsted tells Billboard.com that he’s up for the challenge. “I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he says. “I know it is going to be a lot of work, but it is something that you can’t let pass you by. Now, I have one foot into the… Read more »