Search Results for: harper

It seems only fitting that after six months, 7,000 bands and more than 100,000 votes, the winner of the Takeover Records “Sign My Band” contest would be determined by mere percentage points. And so on Christmas Eve, when the Internet polls closed and Pennsylvania’s Strike Fire Fall defeated the New York band Silhouette by the slimmest of margins – 52 percent to 48 percent – no one was really surprised. “People don’t realize how many bands there are out there, how many kids there are in garages out there. And we’d like to think that this contest communicated to those… Read more »

This summer, Yellowcard’s Ben Harper was looking to sign some new acts to his fledgling label, Takeover Records. There was only one problem: Being the guitar player in a successful rock band does not necessarily afford one the time necessary to check out up-and-coming acts at tiny clubs. So Harper had the bands come to him. And the “Sign My Band” contest was born. “The contest idea came around because we would collect demos from each city we went on Warped Tour, and we didn’t really have any time to follow up with the kids,” Harper said. “So we started… Read more »

New York – RealNetworks, XM Satellite Radio, NCSoft and TiVo were among the big winners at the first annual Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards. The awards were held on November 5th at UCLA Covel Commons at Sunset Village in Los Angeles, California. XM Satellite Radio was presented the award for Best Radio Service, given to the best digital, Internet, satellite or other format in radio with respect to variety, innovation and user experience. XM’s president and CEO Hugh Panero, was honored with the Innovator of the Year award for his profound impact and leadership in the satellite radio medium. RealNetworks’ Rhapsody… Read more »

St. Louis – Grammy-award winning rapper Murphy Lee was arrested after police pulled him over for an expired license plate and found marijuana in his Mercedes, authorities said. Lee, born Tohri Harper, was stopped Oct. 31 on Interstate 55 south of St. Louis. Sheriff’s deputies allegedly smelled marijuana, and the 22-year-old Lee was arrested on charges that he had less than 35 grams of marijuana and was driving under the influence of drugs. Lee’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, declined to discuss the charges Monday, saying only that Lee expects to plead not guilty during a court appearance next month. Lee, part… Read more »

Yellowcard aren’t like the other bands. They may have headlined this year’s Warped tour, but they’re pretty adamant about their individuality. They hate being lumped in with the Good Charlottes and the Simple Plans of the world and they don’t want to be labeled as pop-punk, emo or anything other than “Yellowcard.” “We hate being the ‘punk-pop heavyweights’ or whatever,” says band guitarist Benjamin Harper. (No, not that Ben Harper.) ChartAttack recently spoke with Ben regarding the band’s upcoming DVD, their place in the current scene and what it is that separates Yellowcard from their Warped Tour contemporaries. The band’s… Read more »

For the first time, the No. 1 album in the United States is loaded with anticopying protections, marking a clear step into the mainstream for the controversial technology. According to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan, Velvet Revolver’s “Contraband” was the top-selling album in America last week, despite being prominently labeled on its cover as being “protected against unauthorized duplication.” The success of the album is likely to prompt more experiments from BMG, the band’s label, and other record companies, industry watchers said. “It’s too soon to tell whether the rest of the industry is going to be heartened by this,”… Read more »

On this summer’s Warped Tour, Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper and his label, Takeover Records, will be looking for a talented unsigned band to take under their wing. Not only will this band be guaranteed at least one spot opening for Yellowcard on their 2005 tour, but they’ll also score an album release from Takeover. Working in conjunction with PureVolume.com and AbsolutePunk.net, Takeover Records will be gathering demos for their nationwide “Sign My Band” contest at the tent they share with Yellowcard on the Warped Tour. “This contest is just a great way to directly connect with kids everywhere and show… Read more »

Fans of safe and sentimental melodic pop-rock were treated to the best of both worlds Thursday, when Something Corporate and Yellowcard hit the Roseland Ballroom stage near the end of their six-week co-headlining tour. Where Something Corporate mostly played amidst an air of soul-baring and introspection, Yellowcard’s cheer and bravado helped dissipate any gray clouds that may have hovered overhead. With three flags marked by upside-down hearts hanging from the rafters and spotlights almost always fixed on Andrew McMahon’s upright piano at center stage, Something Corporate’s set alternated between songs about being in and out of love from their 2002… Read more »

The Foo Fighters will replace Guns N’ Roses in the May 30 headlining slot at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon. Guns N’ Roses last month pulled out of its planned performance at the event, citing the departure of guitarist Buckethead. The performance would have made GNR the first act to perform three times at the festival. Buckethead is already in the midst of a solo tour opening for Particle. Rock in Rio will stretch over two weekends, May 28-30 and June 4-6 in the Portuguese city’s Bela Vista Parque. The Foo Fighters will top a “World Stage” bill… Read more »

What everyone always wants to know is: who’s the worst? Meaning: which really famous person out there is a berk whose lack of personality is in inverse proportion to their abundance of fame? And the answer is, of course, all of them. No, it’s not. It’s Jon Bon Jovi. The next question – who’s the best, of course – is more difficult. The interviewees I like are the ones that turn out to be more than you expected, whether that’s more intelligent, or honest, or bonkers, or fun, whatever. And there are plenty of those. Madonna (sharper), Björk (wilder), James… Read more »