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When a pop artist leaves the shelter of a major-label nest, the stark reality of being on one’s own can be a sobering experience. But learning to fly solo can also bring tremendous rewards. Although many rock artists have self-released their music after leaving the major-label fold, most pop artists are so dependent on radio play that they have often sought the deep pockets of another major or a large indie label to foot the bill. But several acts – including Evan & Jaron, Sophie B. Hawkins and Alana Davisare forging their own path. Former Columbia duo Evan & Jaron… Read more »

O.A.R. will hit the road with Dave Matthews Band June 17 in Maryland Heights, MO, followed by festivals and headline amphitheatre tour dates. If ever there were two bands meant to tour together, O.A.R. and DMB surely fit that bill. Much like DMB, O.A.R. tours constantly and has created a network of incredibly loyal supporters. The band was just named #39 on Pollstar’s Top Tours for First Quarter 2004. O.A.R. follows only two spots behind Dave Matthews and Friends, who came in at #37. As well, O.A.R. landed on the chart above heavy hitters Evanescence, Ludacris, and the proverbial road… Read more »

Well, last year we bid a sad and final farewell to Molson Park in Barrie, a favourite summer concert/festival venue in Ontario for the past 20 years and the host of many past Edgefests. The 2003 Edgefest made history by being the last event to ever be held at the Park. But with Molson Park sadly out of the picture, the state of Edgefest’ s existence was left up in the air. We weren’t sure if there was even going to be another Edgefest, let alone where the next one would be held. But Edgefest 2004 is a go and… Read more »

The Backstreet Boys are in sync again. “It’s been like three years since we’ve all been in the studio together, so it’s like the fire was rekindled,” is how Nick Carter described the reunion during a recent break from recording. “We’re in there experimenting and really cool stuff’s coming out. It’s not gonna be the same Backstreet. I mean, you’re always gonna have Backstreet Boys, but the music’s gonna change.” The group plans to update the teen-pop sound it mastered in the late ’90s with a more mature approach to production and songwriting. “We’re just not doing it like we… Read more »

People respond to music in different ways. Some nod their head to the beat. Others like to tear it up in the pit. Then there are those who demonstrate their enthusiasm in their own special way. Linkin Park encountered one such fan at Montreal’s Bell Centre, where they recently played as part of their Meteora World Tour. Guitarist Brad Delson remembers it as if it were yesterday. “There was a 400-pound man who I guess had become so exhilarated with the show that he had taken off all of his clothes and he was dry-humping the floor,” he recalls. “It… Read more »

For the humdrum New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers, putting on a show to match the glitz, glitter and star power of the rest of Super Bowl Sunday was no easy task. Typical of America’s biggest unofficial holiday, the game was only the icing on an over-the-top extravaganza. There was a gleaming new $450 million stadium to show off, a slew of pricey new ads, and Beyonce, Janet Jackson and P. Diddy to share the field. The biggest cliffhanger of the week wasn’t who would win, but whether Janet’s brother, Michael, would show up. He didn’t, but Justin Timberlake did,… Read more »

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know – we all want to change the world. Except for Chris Colus. He’s the drummer for a reggae-roots-rock band, freshly signed to a major record label, and he’s trying to explain that band’s name, which is O.A.R. – Of A Revolution. “There’s no political motive,” the 25-year-old Rockville, MD native insists. “This is the music we’ve wanted to play, the music we wanted to hear – that’s a revolution for ourselves and our fans.” The “Of A Revolution” name actually comes from “The Wanderer,” a short story singer-guitarist Marc Roberge wrote… Read more »

On Jan. 6, San Francisco’s Moscone convention center pulses with all the energy of a rock concert. A crowd sprinkled with hip-hop teenagers, digerati, and aging hippies streams in to hear the annual state-of-the-Mac keynote from Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steven P. Jobs. Every facet of the event bears the fingerprints of the obsessive Jobs – right down to the music that fills the air. This year, it’s the King himself, Elvis Presley. Later, Jobs rolls the tape of Apple’s famous “1984” ad that ran on Super Bowl Sunday that year – and hasn’t been broadcast since. Only this… Read more »

It had seemed as though the record labels had seen off the internet revolution with their heads still attached to their shoulders, but it now appears clear that their one concession to the uprising – agreeing licensing deals with Apple – has landed them in an all-new power struggle. While the big five labels (BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner) have done a sterling job of wresting back control of the price and distribution of their music from the peer-to-peer networks and the average punter; they lost their focus on the final part of the chain, consumption, and in typical… Read more »

Although industry-wide album sales were down from the same weeks of last year in the two stanzas prior to Christmas, an extra gift-shopping day during the holiday frame closed 2003 on an up note. With the holiday shifting back a day, from Wednesday in 2002 to Thursday, album sales are up a whopping 20.6% over the same week of the prior year. The final week’s splurge more than compensates for the 5.8% deficit seen the week before the Christmas frame or the 0.5% gap of the year’s 50th week. Further, the 31.3 million album units sold during this Christmas shopping… Read more »