Search Results for: decade

Depeche Mode, the influential British technopop band that has flourished for two decades, kicked off a five-month world tour in Quebec City Monday night, promoting its new songs in an effort to leave behind its 1980s hits and its years of rock ‘n’ roll excess. The two-hour show, which will tour 24 countries, focused on Depeche Mode’s new album “Exciter,” offering a smoother sound that returns to the band’s roots of pop music with romantic lyrics and electronic melodies. The show was meant to capture the imagination of a new generation of fans, not necessarily the die-hard 1980s supporters. Solid,… Read more »

Radio Free Virgin has unveiled its newest programming channel, “The Crossroads,” offering blues music and historical content surrounding the genre. The new offering brings the total number of genres to 20 that are carried over more than 40 channels, which are streamed through RFV’s proprietary streaming media player. More than 2 million people have downloaded the RFV player since the site launched in early 1999. “The Crossroads” features hundreds of recordings as well the history of the genre with detailed information, rare photographs, and audio and video from the archives of the University of Mississippi and private collections. World renown… Read more »

When The Spinal Tap performed Monday night at Carnegie Hall, it was as if the thirty-four-year-old British heavy metal band was playing for the first time in three days. With the three founding Spinal Tap members – David St. Hubbins, on guitar and vocals; Nigel Tufnel, on lead guitar; and Derek Smalls, on bass – Spinal Tap played “Carnegie ‘Fucking’ Hall” as if they were the same band they have always been. And yet with accompaniment by longtime keyboardist Caucasian Jeffrey Vaston, and with Skippy Skuffelton accepting the suicide mission of drums, Spinal Tap actually are still the same band… Read more »

MCY today announced the signing of legendary rocker Dave Mason to MCY’s subsidiary, Pyramid Music. Pyramid will create a digital production from a June 2001 Dave Mason Band North American tour performance, which will be released on CD and DVD, as well as distributed through television and secure digital distribution channels. MCY CEO Bernhard Fritsch said, “We’re proud to help Dave bring his compelling, timeless rock into the digital era. He revolutionized rock-n-roll with Traffic and has been a powerful influence ever since.” Pyramid President Alan Jacobi concurred, adding, “Dave always pushes the limits to give fans an extraordinary experience.… Read more »

After spending more than three decades dealing with the business that is rock ‘n’ roll, Aerosmith co-founder Joe Perry dreams of a time when he can focus on nothing but playing his guitar. Dream on. With the release of a new album and summer-long U.S. tour that starts Wednesday in Hartford, Perry and the Boston-based quintet have been dizzied by a flurry of videos, movie soundtracks, award ceremonies, sporting event appearances and collaborations with other artists. “It seems like Aerosmith has turned into a full-time job, which is kind of a drag because I got into this business so I… Read more »

Members of rock band Journey say they’ve got a lot in common with Las Vegas, where they headlined over the weekend. Neither is new and both have been evolving over the decades. “Vegas has evolved into a world-class place for entertainment,” said Journey’s new lead singer, Steve Augeri, who joined the band in 1998. Journey, which consists of three of its original members from the 1970s and a new drummer, is also setting off for “new frontiers,” Augeri added. Guitarist Neal Schon, an original member, referred to Las Vegas as New York City on steroids. “No one ever sleeps,” he… Read more »

Next-generation music company MCY (MCY.com, Inc.) today announced the signing of hit swing fusion band Kid Creole and the Coconuts to MCY subsidiary Pyramid Music. Pyramid will release the group’s new album, “Too Cool to Conga,” in June and will create a digital production from the groups American Tour performances in July. The audio-visual spectacular will be produced for distribution through CD, DVD, Television and secure digital downloading and streaming. MCY CEO Bernhard Fritsch commented, “Kid Creole and the Coconuts are among the music world’s most compelling performers – their music meshes infectiously groovy tunes with the artists’ wit and… Read more »

Ike Turner may be one of the more influential figures in rock music. He created what many see as the first rock ‘n roll record, “Rocket 88”; his guitar licks on classic blues recordings are considered masterful; he helped launch the careers of Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, and Otis Rush, among others; and he discovered one of the most dynamic female rock stars ever. But that is not the Ike Turner most people know, or think they know anyway. In the public mind, he remains the man who allegedly broke Tina Turner’s nose and abused her for years, until she… Read more »

Eric Clapton, who is two weeks into the U.S. leg of his Reptile Tour – his first worldwide jaunt in a decade – says that the tour will be his last. “I was musing that it might be the last time,” Clapton says about the planning stages of his current tour. “Now I’m going, ‘This is definitely the last time.’ It’s hard. It’s doesn’t work for me anymore. I will leave the door open for a couple of projects, to play the odd theater, but I’d say this is near the end. Anyone I talk to about it goes, ‘Oh,… Read more »

LFO, Jon Secada, Aaron Carter and the Monkees will help Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough raise money for his lupus foundation in his hometown of Orlando, Florida, on June 1. Bringing together pop stars from every decade since the ’60s, the concert at Hard Rock Live will also feature performances by Youngstown, Deborah Gibson, the Pointer Sisters and Rascal Flatts. The show is part of a two-day event dubbed Lupus 2001, benefiting the Dorough Lupus Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Dorough and his family after his sister, Caroline Dorough-Cochran, died from the disease in 1998. Dorough will host the concert and… Read more »