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Had Russell Watson followed some early career advice, the classical tenor might be singing ‘N Sync-like pop tunes instead of arias. “I was told, ‘Oh Russell, join a boy band, leave the opera to the Italians,”‘ the 27-year-old Brit recalls hearing from agents. “That just made me more determined.” His determination has paid off handsomely. Watson, who is not classically trained and who got his start singing Meat Loaf and Lionel Richie songs in the pubs of Manchester, has become an opera sensation with the release of his debut disc, “The Voice.” Already a best-seller in Britain, the album has… Read more »

The music industry is calling for tough new federal legislation to thwart the pirate CD industry. The call comes as the industry-funded anti-piracy unit this morning crushed 120,000 illegal CDs worth more than $2.4 million. The unit’s manager, Michael Speck, says at the moment, music fraud is too easy and too tempting. Mr Speck says most artists have been ripped-off, as the pile of destroyed CDs illustrates. “Bestsellers for the last five decades, from ABBA right through to Zappa – there’s probably not a mainstream artist that wasn’t represented at some level in there,” he said. “You’ve got to remember… Read more »

Radio airplay is and has been the primary driver of retail record sales in the United States. Some estimate that nearly 90 percent of sales is the direct result of an artist being exposed on radio. But today, radio is joined by an array of other media choices: MTV, BET, and VH1, digital downloads, and streamed audio. Consumers borrow friend’s CDs and tapes, and see live performance. Any record label or promoter would be remiss by ignoring any one of these outlets since they all help to sell music. In the first-ever project of its kind, James Schureck at Jeff… Read more »

Rob Thomas stepped off an airplane feeling like a bona fide rock star, with nearly 12 million copies of his band’s freshman album sold and the follow-up effort following closely behind. But when he handed his passport over to a control officer, she asked: “Are you Rob Thomas of Santana? The guy who sang ‘Smooth?”‘ “I was like ‘No! I’m Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty,”‘ he recalled during a recent interview. Thomas’ work on 1999 smash “Smooth,” which earned Santana record and song of the year at last year’s Grammy Awards, has gained him more celebrity than the success he’s… Read more »

A new album from the band named after a place the sun doesn’t shine will finally see the light of day next month, complete with a track co-written by an “American Bad Ass.” Experimental rockers the Butthole Surfers will release their first album in five years, Weird Revolution, on August 28, even though the family of Malcolm X forced the band back to the drawing board at the 11th hour. In the lyrics on the track “The Weird Revolution,” frontman Gibby Haynes copped a passage – save a few words – from one of the assassinated black activist’s most famous… Read more »

“An all-star salute to ‘The King Of Pop’, MICHAEL JACKSON: 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, THE SOLO YEARS has been set for two dates, Friday, September 7, 2001 and Monday, September 10, 2001 at Madison Square Garden at 7:40 P.M.,” announced David Gest, producer of the event. According to Gest, tickets to the public will go on sale Thursday, July 26th through the Madison Square Garden Box Office and Ticketmaster for both performances. Ticket prices for the concert only will range from $45.00 to $500.00 per seat. The event will mark Michael Jackson’s first live performance on a mainland stage in eleven… Read more »

It’s the kind of small moment on which rock ‘n’ roll history turns. It was Fall, 1978. The Ramones had just completed their fourth album, “Road to Ruin,” and the band felt certain it had recorded a hit single: the impossibly catchy “I Wanna Be Sedated.” But the band was overruled; label executives opted for another track, “Don’t Come Close.” That single quickly disappeared, along with the Ramones’ hit-making aspirations. “We really wanted ‘I Wanna Be Sedated,”‘ recalls guitarist Johnny Ramone. “But the record company picked the singles.” So the No. 1 hit in November 1978 instead was the fluffy… Read more »

Madonna still rocks and rules the world of pop – her sold-out Drowned World tour has set fans alight and sparked rave reviews. On the first date of the global tour two weeks ago the “Material Mom” had a capacity crowd at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi at her spike-heeled feet – and she delivered. From behind the cavorting bodies of dancers, the queen of pop glided onto the stage – hailed by critics as one of her most sophisticated yet. Flying through the air on trapeze wire, riding a mechanical bull and donning a punk-inspired kilt in honor of her… Read more »

Even in its early days of release, Devil’s Night-the new album from D12, the Detroit rap group that includes solo superstar Eminem-is drawing criticism for its lyrical content about drugs, booze, weapons, raping grandmothers, having sex with pit bulls, and exacting violent revenge on enemies. This certainly isn’t news to Eminem fans, who have grown used to the “Parental Advisory” stickers that grace his albums, as well as Devil’s Night. And that certainly hasn’t been enough to keep it from blowing out of stores, with an expected debut at Number One in next week’s Billboard. MC Proof, who co-founded D12… Read more »

To Lars Frederiksen, his band Rancid, his label-mates on Epitaph and Hell-Cat Records, and his favorite bands are all about being part of a family – a punk rock family. Fresh off a tour playing with tour with two, high-powered Hell-Cat bands, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and the Dropkick Murphys, Frederiksen is set for Rancid’s stint on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour and readying a new, high-tech Rancid release. There’s no time to rest for this tattooed, mohawk-sporting, family man. Rancid will join the roving punk festival on June 22nd in Phoenix along with Epitaph label-mates Pennywise, the Bouncing… Read more »