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At the closing news conference of a meeting of G-7 finance ministers, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill mentioned he met Bono last year at the singer’s request, adding he initially feared it would be “just another rock star who wants to use me for something.” Instead, the scheduled half-hour session lasted more than 90 minutes as the two discussed issues such as development aid for Africa. “He’s a serious person,” O’Neill said Saturday of Bono. “He cares deeply about these issues and you know what? He knows a lot about them.” O’Neill noted Bono has traveled to Africa and other… Read more »

Although the identity of the surprise middle act, Stacked Actors, had already leaked throughout a lean crowd of 200 at the Mountain Dew Ice Village in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday (Feb. 9), its frontman nevertheless made a point to properly introduce his band. “We’re not really called Stacked Actors,” announced Dave Grohl. “We’re Foo Fighters.” (“Stacked Actors,” of course is the title of a Foo Fighters song on There Is Nothing Left to Lose, which is allegedly about Courtney Love). Despite the blown surprise, the crowd erupted. The Foos promptly burst into a loose, yet lissome eight-song set… Read more »

Even music fans who don’t dig Creed’s style of heartfelt hard rock must find it hard not to admire frontman Scott Stapp’s ongoing humanitarian efforts. During late spring and early summer, Stapp’s foundation With Arms Wide Open (named after the Creed song of the same name) will assist two camps in their efforts to reach out to children and their parents. The first, Comfort Zone Camp, will provide bereavement services to children who lost parents or other family in the September 11 attacks. The camp, founded in 1998, offers group healing circles, arts and crafts, nature hikes, and grief counselors… Read more »

Victoria Beckham, aka “Posh Spice,” gave a broad hint Monday that the Spice Girl phenomenon could finally be at an end. As she embarked on her latest solo outing, “Posh” admitted that the world may have finally lost interest in the Queens of British pop music. “A lot of people are saying ‘Have you split up? Haven’t you split up?’,” she said in an interview with Sky TV. “If we came out and said to everybody we’ve split up, everybody would say ‘we knew that anyway and what do we care’ so we can’t win whatever we say. “What we’re… Read more »

“Songs in A Minor” may turn Alicia Keys into a major hit. Keys received four nominations for the 16th annual Soul Train Music Awards – leading soul songstresses India.Arie and the late performer Aaliyah, with three each. Veteran R&B singers the Isley Brothers, making a comeback more than 42 years after their first hit single “Shout,” also gathered three nominations Thursday. Keys also is up for six Grammys for the album “Songs in A Minor,” while India.Arie has seven Grammy nominations for her debut album “Acoustic Soul.” Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash last August at age 22, has… Read more »

An outdoor Beach Boys concert before thousands Saturday launched a series of musical concerts intended to entertain visitors and athletes at the Olympic Games. “Salt Lake City has been a tradition for the Beach Boys,” founding member Mike Love said in an interview with Reuters prior to the concert. Love, now 60, wrote the lyrics to the band’s first song, ‘Surfin’, released in 1961 and followed that by co-authoring eleven U.S. top 10 singles with cousin Brian Wilson. Crowds endured long lines, cold temperatures and laborious security checks before entering Washington Square where the City government complex is housed and… Read more »

Canadian punkers Sum 41 will begin tracking the follow-up to their 2001 breakthrough, All Killer No Filler, in late April. They have been writing and demo-ing new material during the Tour of the Rising Sum, the band’s first headlining jaunt. Following the conclusion of the tour – which finds the boys rocking the U.S., Japan and Europe – the foursome will enter the studio with plans for a late 2002/early 2003 release. Greig Nori – who manned the board on Sum 41’s debut EP, 2000’s Half Hour of Power – is expected to produce the album. He also serves as… Read more »

Musicians often view lyrics as vehicles to express their innermost thoughts or frustrations. Orange County, California, combo Fu Manchu prefer to use them to talk about cool stuff, and the impetus for their scorching vocals often comes from their favorite films, toys or pastimes. “We’ve all grown up surfing, skateboarding and being around cars, so a lot of those things have been used in the band since we started,” singer/guitarist Scott Hill said. While Fu Manchu might not have a lot to say lyrically or in interviews, their simplistic sentiments complement their crunchy, chugging guitar rhythms, insistent beats and powerful… Read more »

Since the release of Time to Discover in the spring of 2000, Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise have had their record label, manager and two of their founding members leave them. Bradley, the voice behind the 1997 hit “Once Upon a Time,” thought about hanging up his well-worn hat, until he realized he would not only be leaving his passion, he would be losing his vision. “One of the great things about being in the music business and being blind is that you really get a chance to see,” Bradley, who was born blind, said Tuesday, the day his latest album… Read more »

Celine Dion’s first studio album since 1997’s multiplatinum Let’s Talk About Love will finally hit stores on March 26. A New Day Has Come, which will mark the end of the pop singer’s two-year hiatus, will feature 16 songs, including covers of Etta James’ “At Last” and Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy,” according to Epic Records. The album’s title track will be the first single and will arrive at radio stations this week. On April 7, Dion will perform that song and others on a one-hour CBS special, also titled “A New Day Has Come” (MTV’s parent company, Viacom, also… Read more »