Search Results for: sting

New York – The breach of contract suit suggests Jay-Z was perturbed because Kelly was the higher-paid performer. The animosity led to deliberate lighting flubs and other technical problems, violence against Kelly, and threats to force the promoter to drop him, court papers say. The promoter is also named as a defendant. Kelly, whose best-known hit is “I Believe I Can Fly,” accused one of Jay-Z’s associates of blasting him with pepper spray early Saturday at Madison Square Garden. He was treated at a hospital and released. A short time later, the tour’s promoter, Atlanta Worldwide Touring, fired Kelly. He… Read more »

Billy Howerdel is usually the quiet giant in A Perfect Circle. Sure, the guitarist does most of the interviews, but frontman Maynard James Keenan has always been the band’s mouthpiece, even if he traditionally has been press-shy. With an important presidential election on the horizon, however, Howerdel is through keeping his thoughts to himself. “Ordinarily, I hate talking about politics,” he said. “I usually heed the warning of many elders that say, ‘Never discuss it with your friends, or certainly publicly,’ but it’s an important time to voice your opinions and feelings.” It’s hardly a secret which candidate A Perfect… Read more »

America Online, Inc. the world’s leading interactive services company, will celebrate its landmark 100th AOL® Music First View by unveiling the exclusive world premiere of the new video by U2. The video for the band’s hit song, “Vertigo,” will be available for 24 hours beginning Wednesday, October 27, at 12:01am ET for all AOL members and those on the web, at aolmusic.com. “Vertigo” is the first single off of U2’s hotly anticipated new album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, scheduled for release by Interscope Records on November 23. The video, the band’s first in four years, will mark the… Read more »

Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge already wears many hats: singer/guitarist, clothing-line impresario, political activist. Now he’s adding another cap to his spiky dome: music video director. DeLonge took time off from stumping for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. On their Web site, TBS wrote that “We spent a very hectic 48 hours flying from Dallas to L.A. back to Nashville to shoot our next video with our good friend Thomas DeLonge. He had a great visual concept and was a very enthusiastic, focused and attentive first-time director. “There is a lot of colorful live performance footage as well,” the statement continued. “The… Read more »

Look out, Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams may have found himself a new partner in Snoop Dogg. Williams (Hugo’s other half in the Neptunes) and Snoop first worked their tandem magic with “Beautiful,” and their latest collaboration, “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” is a top-10 hit. The bass-heavy club banger is just one of several collaborations on Snoop’s forthcoming album, Snoop Dogg R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, his debut for Star Trak, the Neptunes’ label. Due November 23, the LP also features appearances from 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Lil Jon and Trina, among others. Snoop also pays homage to… Read more »

In the early morning of September 23, Liars Academy had all their equipment stolen out of their trailer in the Roland Park area of Baltimore, MD, the band’s hometown. This comes right on the heels of the release of the band’s new album, Demons, and in the middle of their east coast tour. Liars Academy will be posting a complete list of the stolen equipment, which is valued in the neighborhood of $15,000, on www.liarsacademy.com very soon. The band will unfortunately have to cancel their performance in New York City tonight and New Jersey tomorrow, although they still definitely plan… Read more »

She may put on a tough front, but surly teen pop star Avril Lavigne has once again enlisted the help of the courts to stop a persistent stalker boi from harassing her and her family. Prosecutors in Everett, Washington, have charged 30-year-old James B. Speedy with felony stalking for his overzealous and unwanted attention to the Lavigne brood over the past year. Speedy has allegedly been firing off letters to the singer and her family since 2003, and he recently violated the terms of a court order by trying to get in touch with her yet again. “He sent his… Read more »

Blink 182 set out to prove that they were more than just a pop-punk band with their latest, self-titled album, and they continue to push the envelope with the latest single from the disc, called “Always.” Frontman Tom DeLonge revealed that he thinks both the fans and the band members themselves are still finding out new things about the trio. “There’s a lot of different sides to our band that people don’t know, but I think they’re discovering it, though,” DeLonge says. “I mean, with this new record that came out, I think people are kinda going, ‘Wow, maybe they’re… Read more »

There’s something a little different about Black Sabbath’s performance at Ozzfest nowadays, and if you blink you might miss it. Two images of George W. Bush, shown during Sabbath’s performance of the metal classic “War Pigs,” have been removed from the video montage that accompanies the song, which usually kicks off the band’s headlining set. One image that juxtaposed Bush and Adolf Hitler was captioned “Same sh-, different a-hole,” while the second superimposed a round, red clown nose on the president, along with the words “White House Clown.” The edit comes days after Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, who claimed he… Read more »

When it comes to concert tours, the good times are not rolling this summer. Major acts like Britney Spears, Marc Anthony and Christina Aguilera, as well as large-scale festivals like Lollapalooza, all pulled the plug on their tours before they even started. In some cases personal problems, like Spears’ knee injury, were to blame. Anthony said he called off his tour to focus on production of his next album. Industry insiders, however, point to a much bigger issue: falling ticket sales. “People aren’t buying tickets,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, the concert industry trade magazine. “For whatever… Read more »