Search Results for: extreme

Fleetwood Mac, the Anglo-American pop group that shrugged off bitter internal rivalries to emerge as one of music’s great survival stories, is back in the studio recording its first album since a successful 1997 reunion. The band hopes to tour late next summer “with any luck,” co-founder Mick Fleetwood told Reuters, alluding to its wildly unpredictable 34-year progression from British blues combo to California rock institution. But it would not be a Fleetwood Mac project without some drama. In this case, singer/keyboardist Christine McVie, one of three key songwriters, has retired from rock ‘n’ roll. Tired of the travel, she… Read more »

Early ’90s superstar Vanilla Ice is back with a new album, Bi-Polar, which came out last week. Ice produced the set, which features guest appearances from Chuck D, La Tha Darkman, Insane Clown Posse, and Josh Brainard, formerly of Slipknot. Bi-Polar features eight hardcore tracks and 17 hip-hop tracks. LAUNCH recently spoke with Ice, who explained why he decided to return to the musical arena. “What brings me back to music is just, you know, I played a lot of shows since October ’98. October ’98 is when I released Hard To Swallow, which was an album I did with… Read more »

Island Def Jam/Def Soul yesterday announced four new executive appointments. Carol Corless has been named Senior Director of Production; Chonita L. Floyd named Senior Director of International Marketing; Karen Wiessen has been named Senior Director of Media & Artist Relations; and Daniel Kruchkow has been named Manager, Online Grassroots Marketing for Def Jam/Def Soul Records. All four new executives will be based in New York. Corless’ main focus will be to oversee the scheduling and production of commercial and promotional releases for Island Def Jam, and will involve interaction with the creative, distribution, promotion, sales, and A&R departments. Previously, Corless… Read more »

Britney Spears’s first live, full-length HBO concert special, Britney Spears Live From Las Vegas at the MGM Grand on November 18, promises to be full of surprises. However, those surprises will not include her highly-anticipated duet with Cher on “The Beat Goes On,” which Spears covered on her 1999 debut album,…Baby One More Time. Cher was forced to cancel the planned duet because of a conflict with the European promotional schedule for her upcoming studio album, Living Proof. “When they asked me, ‘Who would you like to do a duet with?’ I was, like, ‘Please lets do it with Cher… Read more »

“This tragic event has awakened a new interest in news and information for 12-25 year olds that had never existed before,” says Cromwell Broadcasting’s “Czar of Programming” Brian Krysz, referring to the terrorist acts of nearly a month ago. And would anyone argue with his statement? This generation has had its defining moment, just as the Great Depression and World War II were for our parents or grandparents, or the assassination of JFK and the Vietnam War so clearly defined the next generation. After the events of September 11th, 2001, everything in our world, including radio programming, has entered a… Read more »

The September 11th terrorist attacks pulled dozens of high-profile musicians into spirited rounds of fundraising and flag waving. But Groundwork 2001, a benefit to alleviate hunger, began Sunday night, showing that such charity existed before the attacks and will presumably continue after the furor dies down. The opening show was suitably eclectic, featuring Daniel Lanois, Philip Glass, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews. After four smaller shows during the week – featuring Joe Strummer, the Wallflowers, Heart and others – next Monday’s grand finale boasts R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Alanis Morissette, with Gwyneth Paltrow as the… Read more »

As the nation asks “What more can we give?,” many of the world’s greatest performers are teaming with Clear Channel Entertainment for a star-studded music spectacular, “United We Stand,” to raise money in support of the recovery efforts from the September 11th attack on America. The eight-hour music festival will be held Sunday, October 21, at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, beginning at 1:00 pm EST. Confirmed artists include Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, James Brown, Al Green, Ricky Martin, Kiss, Rod Stewart, P. Diddy, Goo Goo Dolls, Train, Destiny’s Child, Usher and many more. Additional artists will be… Read more »

Bestbuy.com has chosen Epic/Immortal Recording artist Incubus and their anxiously awaited release “Morning View” for their premiere foray into advance album previewing with online pre-order. Available now exclusively through Bestbuy.com, fans who purchase “Morning View” are sent an e-mail with an account number which lets them immediately access the album online, on demand and in its entirety, prior to the album’s arrival in stores on October 23. The album will be streamed in the Windows Media format. “Bestbuy.com is extremely excited about this first-ever online presale offer with Incubus’ ‘Morning View,”‘ said Scott Young, head of Bestbuy.com. “The band has… Read more »

Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, James Brown, Ricky Martin, Kiss and ‘N Sync will come together for the “United We Stand” benefit concert in Washington as the music community continues its efforts to aid the victims of last month’s terrorist attacks on in New York and Washington. Aerosmith, Al Green and Backstreet Boys also have been confirmed as part of the eclectic lineup. The Clear Channel Entertainment event will be held Oct. 21 at RFK Stadium in Washington. All proceeds from “United We Stand” will benefit the American Red Cross Relief Fund, the Pentagon Relief Fund and the Salvation Army Relief… Read more »

For the past several years, No Limit Records has established itself as one of the biggest independent record labels ever, selling more than 50 million albums, several of which debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top Album Charts. The six-year distribution deal it has had with Priority records has been extremely successful for both companies. With the pending merger of EMI’s Capitol and Priority Records, and the departure of Priority’s CEO and founder, Bryan Turner, Master P decided it would be best for No Limit Records to move on to a new distribution deal. “I have always had a good… Read more »