Search Results for: hard rock

After hearing thousands of unknown hopefuls in a series of minute-long auditions, hard rock band Limp Bizkit may ask a few potential bandmates back to see if any strike the right chord, the group’s manager said on Tuesday. The band, fronted by Fred Durst and best known for its raging blend of punk, heavy metal and hip-hop, may sign a new guitarist through the open-call “Put Your Money Where Your Guitar Is” tryouts, which began in January. But the group has never guaranteed it would fill the spot left vacant when Wes Borland quit last fall. Of the nearly 5,000… Read more »

No Doubt are taking their Rock Steady to the streets, beginning in mid-March. The ska-turned-reggae rock quartet will launch its first proper tour in support of its latest album, Rock Steady, with two offshore dates in Puerto Rico and Venezuela, on March 14 and 16, respectively, according to an Interscope Records spokesperson. The Venezuela show is part of the Caracas Pop Festival II. Twenty-one other dates have been confirmed at press time, ending with May 10 in Dallas. Additional shows are expected to be announced later. Twenty-one other dates have been confirmed at press time, ending with May 10 in… Read more »

Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson and *NSYNC’s Lance Bass were among approximately 100 celebrities and everyday heroes that carried the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic torch as it made its way through downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday (January 15). Bass used the torch to ignite a cauldron on the back of a pickup truck. The truck carried the flame from Orange County city Costa Mesa, approximately 50 miles south of Los Angeles, to L.A.’s Olvera Street, where runners resumed the relay. Richardson carried the flame later that day on Figueroa Street to raise awareness about his environmental foundation, Just Within Reach (justwithinreach.org).… Read more »

Paul McCartney and Rolling Stones singer-guitarist Keith Richards are among those paying tribute to Johnny Cash on an upcoming two-disc career retrospective. The Essential Johnny Cash, due February 26 from Columbia/Legacy Records, features more than 30 testimonials to Cash from artists including McCartney, Richards, Bono and the Edge of U2, Elvis Costello, former Vice President Al Gore, and even Shawn Crahan of the heavy metal band Slipknot. The Essential Johnny Cash, part of a campaign to celebrate the ailing Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer’s 70th birthday on February 26, compiles 36 digitally remastered tracks recorded not only for Columbia… Read more »

Kid Rock’s latest album, Cocky, has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipping 1 million copies. Cocky is Rock’s third consecutive platinum album, following in the footsteps of Devil Without A Cause and History Of Rock. The new album is currently Number 27 on the Billboard 200 chart, and has actually sold more than 500,000 copies since its release (RIAA certifications are based on units shipped to stores, not albums sold to consumers). Rock was asked if there is a message to fans in Cocky. “No, I think the message is the overall picture… Read more »

Headliners in their own right, singer Gwen Stefani and her bandmates in No Doubt were so eager to showcase their forthcoming album, “Rock Steady,” they started touring as an opening act two months before the CD was due for release. Back on the road after an 18-month hiatus, No Doubt will be playing warmup dates for veteran Irish rockers U2 into early December. But far from feeling overshadowed by Bono and friends, Stefani sees the U2 gig as the perfect way for No Doubt to bring itself back in public view and prepare for the Dec. 11 release of its… Read more »

Everyone at some point has dreamed of being a rock star. Now even the least musically inclined among us can feel like a real rock star – actually playing the guitar and drum parts of our favorite songs thanks to a one-of-a-kind interactive music experience from MusicPlayground. Available now at www.MusicPlayground.com, MusicPlayground makes use of virtual instruments – plug-and-play USB peripherals – that simulate their real-world counterparts, allowing users to literally take over the guitar, bass or drum parts of their favorite songs. They simply plug in their virtual instruments to the back of their computer and start playing along… Read more »

Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Elton John led music stars honoring the victims and rescue workers of the World Trade Center attack in a concert that celebrated the energy and pride of New York. Joel tapped into the city’s emotion singing “New York State of Mind,” stirring a crowd at Madison Square Garden that included rows of uniformed police, firefighters and their families dancing, singing and screaming at the more than five-hour gala. Movie stars, including Harrison Ford, Jim Carrey and Meg Ryan, also joined politicians such as former President Clinton and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to launch what… Read more »

First album together in eight years finds band returning to its roots. For many years over the past two decades, New Order crafted cynical synth-pop that radiated with alternative dancefloor chic. But on Get Ready, the band’s first record together in eight years, New Order have done something they haven’t tried since their pre-Order days. They’ve rocked out. While the album still shimmers and shivers with electronic textures, it’s anchored by organic instrumentation and galvanic grooves. “60 Miles an Hour,” Get Ready’s second single, sounds like a beefier spinoff of the band’s hit “Blue Monday,” and “Rock the Shack” is… Read more »

The 2001 Family Values Tour boasts two acts – Linkin Park and Staind – with triple-platinum albums currently in the Billboard top 10, though neither group is the headliner. That distinction goes to Stone Temple Pilots, who met the challenge at the tour’s second stop Friday, at the Allstate Arena near Chicago. Led by Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots played like a band with something to prove to the young crowd of some 15,000 fans, which – nearly a decade after the release of their debut album, Core, and in an era dominated by rap-rock and nü-metal – they do.… Read more »