Search Results for: hard rock

The members of Metallica are the heroes of the day at San Quentin State Prison, one of the most infamous prisons in the United States. The hard rock quartet, preparing to release its new album “St. Anger” on June 10, is shooting a video for the title track at the prison on Wednesday, and will perform an hourlong concert the following day, the group said on its Web site (http://www.metclub.com). The video will be directed by the Malloy Brothers, who previously worked with 311 and Foo Fighters. The 150-year-old prison, just north of Metallica’s San Francisco home town, was the… Read more »

While the World Health Organization said that it believes the worst of severe acute respiratory syndrome is over in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam – which got a clean bill of health on Monday for being the first nation to contain the virus – SARS is still affecting tour and promotional plans for many artists who were set to visit those regions. The Rolling Stones were the first to pull out of Asian concerts – their first-ever concerts in China – when news of the disease broke in March, though they did play two shows in Singapore. They also… Read more »

Double duty wasn’t necessarily what new Voivod member (and recently announced Ozzy Osbourne bassist) Jason Newsted had in mind when he left Metallica over two years ago, but that’s exactly what he’ll be doing this summer as Voivod and Ozzy play Ozzfest 2003. Despite the need for two sets of everything (clothes, amps, etc.), Newsted tells Billboard.com that he’s up for the challenge. “I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he says. “I know it is going to be a lot of work, but it is something that you can’t let pass you by. Now, I have one foot into the… Read more »

Hard rock act Nothingface has abruptly exited its support slot on Ministry’s North American tour, which is scheduled to run into May. A spokesperson wouldn’t give details on the move, saying only that the group played its last show with Ministry on Saturday in Phoenix. Nothingface is expected to begin a headlining tour in the near future as a precursor to its summer-long second-stage slot on Ozzfest kicking off June 28 in Selma, Texas. The group’s next TVT album, “Skeletons,” is due April 22. The set is the follow-up to Nothingface’s 2000 effort, “Violence,” which reached No. 24 on Billboard’s… Read more »

Short list of 45th Annual Grammy Award winners, announced during Sunday night’s live telecast on CBS: Album of the Year – “Come Away With Me,” Norah Jones New Artist – Norah Jones Record of the Year – “Don’t Know Why,” Norah Jones Song of the Year – “Don’t Know Why,” Jesse Harris – Norah Jones Hard Rock Performance – “All My Life,” Foo Fighters Spoken Comedy Album – “Robin Williams – news – Live 2002,” Robin Williams Country Album – “Home,” Dixie Chicks Rap Album – “The Eminem – news – web sites Show,” Eminem Male Pop Vocal Performance –… Read more »

Headbangers of the world will unite once again this summer at Ozzfest, the annual road show of hard rock bands organized by America’s first couple of reality TV, the Osbournes. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and son Jack opened their Beverly Hills house to journalists on Tuesday to announce the lineup for the eighth annual outing of Ozzfest. Dressed in his best pair of tracksuit pants and a black T-shirt, a typically befuddled Ozzy slurred his way through the news conference while a svelte Sharon, as usual, took charge of proceedings, firing off insults at her guests and husband. Ozzy Osbourne,… Read more »

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough’s third annual Lupus Cruise to benefit his Dorough Lupus Foundation sets sail from Miami on Sunday (December 15) for a seven-day adventure aboard the Carnival Victory. Dorough, his sister Pollyanna, and the rest of his family will be on board as the Victory visits ports in the Eastern Caribbean, including San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. The Dorough Lupus Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization founded by Dorough and his family shortly after his sister Caroline Cochran died from the disease in 1998. Dorough explained to LAUNCH, “I unfortunately lost one of my sisters, Caroline… Read more »

Dashboard Confessional and Jack Johnson played acoustic, and Beck and Coldplay celebrated Christmas, but otherwise KROQ-FM’s annual Almost Acoustic Christmas was a two-day, 20-act festival all about rocking. And the sold-out event was certainly crammed with rock and roll moments, particularly the announced live debut of Audioslave (they played a secret club show the night before), and an amusing rendition of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” orchestrated by Beck and the Flaming Lips and featuring Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, Johnson and a horribly off-key Juliette Lewis. (Click here for photos from the show.) Audioslave were the talk… Read more »

The rock band System Of A Down, which draws inspiration from diverse influences such as heavy metal and Armenian folk music, released “Steal This Album” on Tuesday in response to Internet users downloading the band’s songs before they’re ready. But how do they protect their music in the future? Singer Serj Tankian said it’s a difficult task. “We are just a little more critical as to who we get involved with,” Tankian told the Associated Press. “There’s so many ways of taking music. I heard certain sessions of another band were downloaded while it was being transferred on ISDN lines.… Read more »

As one of the forefathers of rap, with a history of social activism, Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay was an unlikely target for the kind of violence that killed rappers Tupac Shakur or the Notorious B.I.G. He was married with three kids, and a fixture in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. Yet authorities were searching Thursday for the gunman who killed the 37-year-old disc jockey with a gunshot to the head inside his recording studio. “Jam Master Jay was a longtime family man and one of the founders of the group that knocked down all the doors for hip-hop,… Read more »