When the Silversun Pickups were writing “Swoon,” the follow-up to their breakout “Carnavas” album, they were given access to parts of the universe where mere mortals dare not tread. And they soaked in them. “We were on jets that landed on hovercrafts that rolled us onto Jacuzzi-shaped planes,” frontman Brian Aubert laughed. “And on one Jacuzzi plane, there was a submarine, and that was the VIP, and that was going crazy. And that’s where we wrote the album. We wrote “Swoon” on the backs of hookers. In crayon.” He’s kidding. But there’s no denying that the past few years have… Read more »
In 1993, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, the Smashing Pumpkins and Pavement brought AIDS activism into the bedrooms of grunge-obsessed teens on the benefit album ” No Alternative” marrying music to message in a way that registered strongly with Generation X. The project, organized by the Red Hot Organization — an international production company dedicated to fighting AIDs through pop culture — and released by Arista Records sold 292,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan and generated several modern rock radio hits. But the success was a mixed blessing; other major labels went out of their way to… Read more »
LOS ANGELES — Concert promoter Live Nation Inc and ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. confirmed their merger plans Tuesday and got right to work addressing antitrust concerns that have taken center stage Ticketmaster Chairman Barry Diller to be chairman of the new company – which would be called Live Nation Entertainment – sought to dispel the notion that the deal would lead to higher ticket prices. “Ticketmaster does not set prices. Live Nation does not set ticket prices. Artists set the prices,” he said, without mentioning the ticket surcharges Ticketmaster relies on for much of its revenue. Under the deal… Read more »
Fall Out Boy have become the latest rockers to take on the iconic Simpsons theme for an episode of the animated series. You can check out FOB’s metal-y version of the Simpsons theme on the FOX site now. “This is something we grew up with,” guitarist Joe Trohman said in an behind-the-scenes video (watch it above). “I know for me, my sense of humor and the way I perceive humor and the way I perceive a lot of things was based on growing up and watching The Simpsons, so to be a part of this for me is legendary.” Adds… Read more »
Confirming news that Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson let slip recently on “The Carson Daly Show,” Green Day is in the studio with veteran producer Butch Vig working on the follow-up to 2004’s “American Idiot.” In a video posted over the weekend on YouTube, the band is seen in the control room as the camera pans over to Vig, who smiles and extends his middle finger. Instrumental bits of two new songs are heard in the background. Vig is best known for his work on Nirvana’s “Nevermind” but has also logged time behind the boards with Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth,… Read more »
The 9:30 Club just hit the trifecta, winning the top three national awards for nightclubs in as many months. The latest: the 9:30 Club has been named Nightclub of the Year by the POLLSTAR Concert Industry Awards. POLLSTAR, the industry’s leading concert trade publication, honored the 9:30 Club for its professionalism, achievements and abilities. The Pollstar Concert Industry Awards are determined through a vote of U.S. and international music business professionals. “The 9:30 Club is all about the people who work there. It would really be nothing without them. I can’t thank them enough,” said Seth Hurwitz, chairman… Read more »
The 2007 Billboard Touring Awards have just been handed out in New York, and the coveted Top Club prize went to the legendary D.C. favorite, the 9:30 Club, beating all other clubs in the world to secure the honor. The award was based on top gross box office revenue. For nearly 10 years, the 9:30 Club has been the top attended club not just in the nation, but the world.The Billboard Touring awards honor the industry’s top artists, venues and professionals for the year, based on the Billboard Boxscore chart and on actual box office performance from January 1, 2007… Read more »
Atreyu’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor rocketed onto Billboard’s Top 200 this week at No. 8, and Billboard’s Rock and Hard Rock Album charts at No. 1, making it the highest-charting album of the band’s career. The debut is also significant in that Atreyu distinguish themselves as one among a very short list of hard rock acts to have debuted in the Top 10 this year. News of the album’s explosive arrival follows a flurry of headline-making moves for Atreyu, who were recently named as a headliner on one of the biggest tours of the new year: “Rockstar Taste of Chaos… Read more »
Acclaimed metallic rock act ATREYU have announced plans for a headlining tour in support of their upcoming Hollywood Records debut, Lead Sails Paper Anchor. The much-buzzed-about album arrives in stores on August 28th and the tour begins September 9th at the Big Easy in Boise, ID, with openers Haste The Day, It Dies Today plus a special guest to be announced. Atreyu, who will grace the October cover (on stands Aug. 21) of Revolver magazine, are currently previewing select songs from the new album while on the Family Values Tour, which sees them third on the bill and sharing the… Read more »
Season 4, Episode 4. Music from American Hi-Fi, James Blunt, MxPx, Nikola Sarcevic, Smashing Pumpkins, Switchfoot.
