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Washington, D.C. – With the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Bush, visitors to the capital won’t be able to swing a cat next week without hitting a ball or party. Although there will be free daytime festivities open to the public during inauguration week, the closed soirees are the hot tickets. The nine “official” nighttime balls, all sponsored by states’ societies, most set for Jan. 19, command most of the attention. All are closed affairs reserved for the Republican Party faithful, with campaign contributors flying in from all over the country. There are also boatloads of “unofficial” parties being thrown… Read more »

Record labels are embracing new technologies in search of music’s next big thing Joe Berman looks for new bands. Typically, that means hanging out in dive bars, enduring hours of unlistenable music by groups whose rock-and-roll dreams far exceed their talent, praying for the occasional act that shows promise. About 16 months ago, however, the Los Angeles-based talent-finder sat at home scouting the globe for groups. He typed “New Zealand indie rock bands” into his computer search engine and found Steriogram, five lads from the town of Whangarei in New Zealand. They had a song and a video posted on… Read more »

When a pop artist leaves the shelter of a major-label nest, the stark reality of being on one’s own can be a sobering experience. But learning to fly solo can also bring tremendous rewards. Although many rock artists have self-released their music after leaving the major-label fold, most pop artists are so dependent on radio play that they have often sought the deep pockets of another major or a large indie label to foot the bill. But several acts – including Evan & Jaron, Sophie B. Hawkins and Alana Davisare forging their own path. Former Columbia duo Evan & Jaron… Read more »

On Jan. 6, San Francisco’s Moscone convention center pulses with all the energy of a rock concert. A crowd sprinkled with hip-hop teenagers, digerati, and aging hippies streams in to hear the annual state-of-the-Mac keynote from Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steven P. Jobs. Every facet of the event bears the fingerprints of the obsessive Jobs – right down to the music that fills the air. This year, it’s the King himself, Elvis Presley. Later, Jobs rolls the tape of Apple’s famous “1984” ad that ran on Super Bowl Sunday that year – and hasn’t been broadcast since. Only this… Read more »

The controversial issue of The Source purporting Eminem to be a racist hit newsstands last week, so it’s no surprise that the rapper has already fired back at the magazine. In an untitled freestyle on the Green Lantern mixtape The Invasion Part Three: Countdown to Armageddon, Eminem aims to both elaborate on and get past the controversy stirred up by an old song in which he spit offensive lyrics directed at black women. He raps: “Oh, sorry, yo so sorry, whoa/ But that was a long time ago/ When I was a Joe Schmo/ Rapping in Joe Blow’s basement/ I… Read more »

The stage’s platforms, ramps and angular slabs of metal made it look like a futuristic factory floor, and Linkin Park proved to be the gleaming machine that keeps the warehouse in brisk business. In concert at Nassau Coliseum Sunday night, the band was precise and efficient, the members taking on their roles like theater veterans. They ran from side to side without colliding, waved their arms in tandem, leapt from oversized milk crates and waded into the crowd to spread the Linkin love. And for added flair, they brought out an acrobatic breakdancer during “Nobody’s Listening.” Their musical performance was… Read more »

It had seemed as though the record labels had seen off the internet revolution with their heads still attached to their shoulders, but it now appears clear that their one concession to the uprising – agreeing licensing deals with Apple – has landed them in an all-new power struggle. While the big five labels (BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner) have done a sterling job of wresting back control of the price and distribution of their music from the peer-to-peer networks and the average punter; they lost their focus on the final part of the chain, consumption, and in typical… Read more »

Michael Jackson says he is still in pain from being put in police handcuffs last month and tells CBS’s “60 Minutes” that authorities “manhandled” him. The pop star said he suffered a dislocated shoulder from the way he was cuffed and handled during his arrest on child molestation charges. “It’s hurting me very badly,” Jackson said in an interview broadcast Sunday. “I’m in pain all the time.” Representatives of the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s department did not return a call seeking comment Sunday. District Attorney Thomas Sneddon has said Jackson was treated fairly while in custody. Jackson denied the molestation… Read more »

The future of the music industry is being held, quite literally, in the palm of a twentysomething’s hand. Not the “business” side of the music industry – you know, the folks you’ve perhaps heard weeping into their bowls of caviar over the 31 percent decrease in album sales over the course of the past year, a downturn the suits pin on the advent of digital music downloading and CD burning. No, the “art” side of music business is being forceably changed. Artists are either coming to terms with changes in the ways their music is distributed – or doggedly railing… Read more »

Just one week after being congratulated by a judge for staying clean, Scott Weiland has been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. The former Stone Temple Pilots frontman/current Velvet Revolver singer, who turned 36 on the day of this most recent arrest, was apprehended Monday morning in Los Angeles at 6:37 a.m. An L.A. police spokesperson said that an officer was dispatched at 6:07 a.m. to the corner of Melrose and Genesee, where Weiland’s 2001 BMW allegedly struck a parked van. No injuries were reported. By following the debris and tire marks, a police officer was able to… Read more »