Search Results for: ep

Hollywood – If imitation is the highest form of flattery, reinterpretation is a close second. Pharrell Williams was certainly flattered by Jamie Cullum’s rendering of “Frontin’,” a bonus track on the British jazz singer and pianist’s breakthrough album, Twentysomething. “He heard it and wanted to meet with me,” Cullum revealed recently. That meeting led to the Neptunes agreeing to work on Cullum’s next album. The odd pairing is scheduled for March, but in the meantime Cullum has been collaborating with another unlikely producer, Dan the Automator of Gorillaz and Handsome Boy Modeling School fame. “We sampled some old jazz records… Read more »

Los Angeles – Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler and his wife of 17 years, Teresa, are separating, the singer announced Sunday. Tyler, 56, asked the public to respect his family’s privacy in a statement released through the band’s publicist, Mitch Schneider. “Before the tabloid media makes more of this than it is, I am announcing that my wife Teresa and I are currently separated,” Tyler said. “We’re just a family trying to work through a difficult time. A little privacy and sensitivity – for Teresa, my children and myself – would be nice.” The couple have two teenage children, Chelsea,… Read more »

Maybe you can blame it on some indie-minded guilt. On March 1, Death Cab for Cutie – longtime independent stalwarts recently inked to Atlantic Records – will drop The John Byrd EP, the final release for them on tiny Seattle label Barsuk Records. The EP will only be available in two places: on Barsuk’s Web site or in record stores who are members of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. It could be the result of a guilty conscience. But it’s more than likely not. “We just wanted to have a properly recorded live record out there, because bootlegs show… Read more »

Los Angeles – Led Zeppelin got a “whole lotta” belated love from the music industry on Saturday, earning a lifetime achievement Grammy in recognition of a career that changed the face of rock ‘n’ roll. The English band was one of 10 performers, alongside the likes of rockabilly hellraiser Jerry Lee Lewis, blues belter Janis Joplin and country crooner Eddy Arnold, celebrated at a luncheon one day before the Grammy Awards. During their 12 years together, Led Zeppelin never won a Grammy, even though they were arguably the biggest band of the 1970s, a combo whose blues-based rock anthems resonate… Read more »

Los Angeles – Mike Love and the rest of the surviving Beach Boys stayed away, but luminaries such as Neil Young and Jeff Beck showed up in Hollywood on Friday as the music industry honored Brian Wilson at a black-tie bash. The troubled genius behind the fabled vocal group was feted as man of the year at the 15th annual MusiCares dinner, a Grammy-related event that raises money for musicians in need. While previous gatherings took place in glamorous hotel ballrooms, this year’s was held at the Hollywood Palladium, a run-down concert venue infamous for attracting drive-by shootings a few… Read more »

Forget the stage, it’s been almost a decade since Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney and Mike Inez – a.k.a. 75 percent of ’90s grunge icons Alice in Chains – have even been in the same room. Sure, they’ve jammed with each other in various permutations since Alice last played a show together (a 1996 taping of MTV’s “Unplugged”), but never all three together. So when they announced that they’d be taking the stage again this month, it had to be for a good reason. “We all saw what happened with the tsunamis in Southeast Asia. It was such an overwhelming tragedy,”… Read more »

New York – At a time when reality and youth lifestyle shows – not videos – dominate MTV’s main programming hours, the network is looking to music-related contests, tour sponsorships and other off-channel marketing initiatives to drive its identity as a music brand. Case in point: MTV in February is sending eight contest winners on a private island getaway with Columbia Records act Destiny’s Child in a stunt it is billing as Destiny’s Isle. The promotion – which MTV has been plotting since last August and was aggressively promoting last fall – will culminate with clips from an afternoon meeting… Read more »

Los Angeles – Epitaph Records built its foundation on punk rock. But just before last year’s presidential election, the label’s most biting political commentary arrived courtesy of Sage Francis, a 27-year-old rapper from Providence, R.I. The song “Slow Down Gandhi” sarcastically rips into liberals and conservatives alike, casting a cynical eye at warmongers and the “cool kids” who “were rocking votes.” With a perfectly articulated delivery that recalls Chuck D, Francis builds each verse with a mixture of activism, paranoia and humor. “If they could sell sanity in a bottle, they would be charging for compressed air,” he quips. Epitaph… Read more »

During an interview a few months back, Serena Pruyn – the enthusiastic frontwoman for Can-rockers Oliver Black – said her band were in no rush to get signed. The Welland, Ontario, quartet were taking their time perfecting a live set and building a loyal audience while several record companies courted the increasingly popular group. It seems Oliver Black are now ready and have announced details of their first record deal. Turns out they’ve signed to New York City label TVT Records and Universal Music will distribute them here in Canada. TVT is famous for introducing Nine Inch Nails to the… Read more »

With the metal world still reeling from the shocking murder of Dimebag Darrell Abbott, it seems that a second Damageplan album might be in the works. Damageplan’s manager Paul Bassman recently told Billboard.com of a nearly completed recording that the band had laid down just prior to Abbott’s death. Bassman also mentioned that according to Abbott’s brother, Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul, the band have every intention to get the music to the fans as soon as possible. It’s not known how much material was completed or when the album may be released. When Abbott was killed, Damageplan were touring behind… Read more »