Search Results for: rise records

JUST days after the European launch of Apple Computers’ online music store, a chorus of customers are voicing their complaints. The lack of songs from artists on independent record labels – which account for a quarter of the UK market – has left iTunes looking like a poorly-stocked American import store, lacking local talent such as Travis and Franz Ferdinand. “Most Scottish acts are on independent labels,” says Alison Wenham, chairman and chief executive of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), which represents the majority of the UK’s indie labels. “Celtic acts typically start off very strong in their home… Read more »

The Van Halen reunion is looking to be one of the biggest tours of the summer. It marks the first time in almost a decade that Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar have graced the same stage. “It just felt right,” drummer Alex Van Halen says. “Sammy and I got together, and it was like we hadn’t missed a beat. The moment we hit the studio and started making music, that was it. Making music is what is the center of this band – that and the friendship.” The tour, which kicks off Friday in… Read more »

Nine Inch Nails’ former manager John Malm has shot back at Trent Reznor, who filed a suit against him earlier this week seeking millions of dollars. Not only does Malm refute Reznor’s claim that he and former business manager/accountant Richard Szekelyi ripped off the rocker, he insists that Reznor actually owes him over $2 million in unpaid commissions. After numerous attempts to procure the payments, the manager sued Reznor in April, weeks before the suit against Malm and Szekelyi was filed. “Trent Reznor’s complete lack of loyalty and integrity is astounding,” Malm said in a statement. “After 20 years of… Read more »

Tuesday (May 25) is a big day for Avril Lavigne. Not only does the date mark the release of the pop star’s second album, Under My Skin, but it’s also the day that Avril makes her debut as a full-grown woman. When Lavigne’s debut, Let Go, came out two years ago, she was 17 – and as most critics who interviewed her at the time will tell you, not a particularly mature 17 at that. Now she’s a hearty 19, has traveled the world, dated a few boys, hung out with rock stars and lives in her own place in… Read more »

No one is really more surprised about this success than me,” says Isaac Brock, lead singer of indie-rocker heroes Modest Mouse, who, after a decade of struggles, disappointments and near-breakups, finally have a hit record. The group’s fourth album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, debuted at Number Nineteen on the Billboard Album Chart in April, is still hanging tough at Number Twenty-three this week and has sold more than 300,000 copies. Modest Mouse’s video, “Float On,” is an MTV buzz clip, and they were one of the first bands announced for this year’s Lollapalooza. “We’ve been such… Read more »

Evanescence were set to record this summer until Amy Lee decided to spend the time with her boyfriend. Fortunately for fans, they like to travel. “I thought it would be really fun to tour together since we’ve never had the chance,” Lee said of Seether singer Shaun Morgan. “We’re always missing each other on tour, like, ‘I wish you were here so you can see this, this is awesome, I’m in Paris,’ or whatever. It’ll be fun to see how it works. I’m gonna try not to blow it. Mixing business with pleasure: sometimes it blows up in your face,… Read more »

When speaking this month to a representative from Soundscan, the company that provides much of the data for the Billboard Top 200 Chart, I learned things that would contradict reported statements by the RIAA. Mainly that US labels have had a significant reduction in sales over the past three years. Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, responded personally, put his rebuttals on the record and in the process exposed intriguing insight into the way the RIAA calculates “losses.” Soundscan is a service owned by Nielsen, the company that computes TV ratings. Soundscan uses the barcodes on CDs to register sales… Read more »

While being well-prepared is almost always advised for a young band in the studio, spontaneous strokes of creativity are usually the moments the musicians remember best. Of the 13 songs that comprise Yellowcard’s latest album, Ocean Avenue, the band had a dozen of them hashed out beforehand. But while knee-deep in recording, the group stumbled across the riff that became the foundation for “Only One,” which is slated to be the album’s third single. “We discovered a riff for it by accident,” singer Ryan Key said. “We were testing something else out and just tracked it right away. We then… Read more »

The pioneering rock supergroup Yes- currently celebrating their 35th anniversary – is en route with acoast-to-coast North American spring 2004 itinerary that launched April 15 andruns through mid-May. The historic arena tour – in the grand scale of pastYes excursions – presents the band’s formidable “classic” line-up of 1969co-founders Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, along with Rick Wakeman, SteveHowe, and Alan White, all three of whom started with Yes in the very early’70s. The three-hour 35th anniversary shows bring to life essential Yes songsfrom throughout the visionary prog-rock icons’ extraordinary career, as wellas the brand new composition, “Show Me.” The… Read more »

Britney Spears is getting into that “Leaving Las Vegas” frame of mind. The singer is going to stage her suicide in her new video for “Everytime,” as a way to respond to rumors and reports that she’s teetering on the brink, seeking help, in therapy or otherwise disturbed. Call the clip Britney’s funhouse mirror – it’ll reflect her life, but distort it, too. Spears’ follow-up to “Toxic” – her first #1 single since 2000’s “Oops!… I Did it Again” – will be shot in Los Angeles but set in Sin City, home of her quickie marriage. Though “Everytime” is a… Read more »