Search Results for: rise records

When the creators of the upcoming WWF album Tough Enough 2 asked Cold to contribute a track, frontman Scooter Ward was baffled. He thought, what did his music – riddled with gloomy, nihilist imagery and creepy underpinnings – have in common with the muscle-bound, over-the-top world of pro wrestling? Then it occurred to him that being in a band on the run and flying off the top turnbuckle night after night had some similarities after all. “I was writing a song for my kid at the same time,” Ward said last week. “Leaving home all the time, never being here… Read more »

Ja Rule knows what it’s like to be in the shoes of Ashanti, his Murder Inc. labelmate and “Always on Time” co-star. He can remember when not too long ago he felt the pressure of being a star on the rise. Now that he’s a bona fide hitmaker, Ja still feels pressure. But keeping the songs coming that help his star hover in the stratosphere is the least of his worries. Lately he’s been feeling some heat from below the heavens. “I’ve rethought a lot of things,” he said Tuesday about his work in progress, The Last Temptation. “I have… Read more »

Will Smith may not have come up a winner at the Academy Awards, but the actor/rapper can revel in a victory elsewhere in Hollywood. He and his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, have just secured the rights to produce the remakes of the ’70s films “Uptown Saturday Night,” “Let’s Do It Again” and “A Piece of the Action,” according to a spokesperson for the company. All three motion pictures starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, who was honored at the Oscars on Sunday. The Overbrook spokesperson said it’s too early to tell when the films will come out or if Smith… Read more »

With the surprise U.S. success of Kylie Minogue, Capitol Records is starting to regain its footing in the current release marketplace. The EMI-owned label certainly has to hope the Minogue revival – her album “Fever” has sold 250,000 copies in three weeks of release in the U.S., and the single “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” has sold nearly 3 million worldwide – portends a solid spring for its established stars. Paul McCartney, whose “Driving Rain” album was met with relative indifference upon its release in November, could see boosted sales coinciding with his 24-date tour of the U.S.… Read more »

The 16th annual South by Southwest music conference drew to a close Sunday, and the only thing that lasts longer than the seemingly perpetual hangover that results from four debauched days of a music industry on spring break is the buzz emanating from the bands and key moments that defined this year’s festival. Of the more than 1,000 bands showcasing their chops before press, radio programmers, managers, lawyers, label execs and promoters in 48 venues strewn throughout Austin, Texas, a handful traditionally rise above the chaff to become the targets of hype hucksters and topics of critical discussion for weeks… Read more »

They represented the anti-establishment, so it was a bit odd to see the Ramones so happy to become part of the music establishment as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But for the remaining members of the punk rock originators – whose lead singer, Joey Ramone, died last year – Monday night’s induction at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel represented long-overdue respect for the band that helped revolutionize rock with their rapid-fire, guitar-heavy songs. “I’d like to congratulate myself, and thank myself, and give myself a big pat on the back,” joked Dee Dee Ramone. “Thank you Dee Dee,… Read more »

Former Backstreet Boys keyboardist-songwriter Tommy Smith filed a lawsuit against the group, the members’ individually owned and operated personal music-publishing companies, and Zomba Enterprises, Inc. in the United States District Court Central District Of California on Friday (March 15). The lawsuit stems from an ongoing dispute between Smith and the Backstreet Boys about credit for songs Smith claims that he co-wrote for the group’s last Jive Records album, Black & Blue (released November 21, 2000). The songs in question are “The Answer To Our Life” and “Time,” according to the court papers. In the suit, Smith claims that he wrote… Read more »

The state’s highest court decided it will consider the case of record producer Phil Spector and ’60s rock group the Ronettes over millions of dollars in movie soundtrack royalties. The state Court of Appeals is expected to hear the case late this year. Last November, the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upheld a lower court finding that Spector had violated his 1963 contract with the three women – one of whom was his wife – and ordered him to pay $2.97 million plus interest. The contract dealt only with royalties on sales of records, but Spector was accused of illegally… Read more »

Bastions of ’90s punk Green Day and Blink-182 will embark on a co-headlining jaunt, beginning April 17 in Bakersfield, California. The 41-city Pop Disaster Tour will continue through June 17 in Minneapolis, according to a tour publicist. Venues have yet to be hammered out. Jimmy Eat World will tag along for the first half of the tour, and Saves the Day have come aboard for the second bunch of dates, Blink singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge revealed on “TRL” Wednesday (February 13). Local bands and lesser-known acts chosen by the headliners will comprise the fourth band on the bill. The outing marks… Read more »

Destiny’s Child is scheduled to release This Is The Remix March 12 on Columbia Records. The album comprises 13 songs, including various mixes of the group’s hit records, as well as a bonus track from Michelle Williams’s forthcoming gospel album. The album includes remixes from Wyclef (“No, No, No Part 2,” and “Bug A Boo”), the Neptunes (“Emotion”), Timbaland (“Say My Name”), and Jermaine Dupri (“Jumpin’, Jumpin’”), among others. “Heard A Word,” from Williams’s gospel debut, From My Heart To Yours, due out April 2, is also featured on the album. The following is the album track listing: “No, No,… Read more »